Juan Soto discusses Mets’ failure despite lofty expectations for 2025
After the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention on the season’s final day, Juan Soto discussed what went wrong on Sept. 28, 2025, in Miami.
The Mets had one of the most potent duos in baseball in the heart of their lineup, and Major League Baseball recognized that firepower on Wednesday night.
The league announced that Pete Alonso and Juan Soto were recipients of Silver Slugger Awards in the National League for the 2025 season.
It is Alonso’s first Silver Slugger, earning the nod at first base, while Soto grabbed the award for the sixth straight season in the outfield.
The award’s finalists and winners at each position, including a utility player, are voted on by managers and coaches. Votes are based on a combination of offensive statistics and the general impressions of a player’s offensive value.
Alonso outpaced the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman and Braves’ Matt Olson — the NL’s other two finalists at first base.
Soto earned the nod in a group of outfielders that included the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker, Marlins’ Kyle Stowers and Nationals’ James Wood. Carroll and Tucker also won their first and second Silver Sluggers, respectively.
Here is how Alonso and Soto set themselves apart for the award:
Pete Alonso
Alonso was the top run producer in the Mets’ offense, driving in a team-high 126 runs, poking 38 home runs and scoring 87 runs while leading the National League with 41 doubles. During the season, Alonso set the franchise’s new home run record when he surpassed Darryl Strawberry with his 263rd home run.
The Mets first baseman, who played all 162 games for the second straight season, boasted a career high .271 batting average. During the season, Alonso was in the top 2 percent in barrel rate and expected slugging percentage.
Juan Soto
After a slow opening to his Mets tenure, Soto ended up living up to his potential and his early portion of his whopping record $765 million contract in 2025. He posted a .921 OPS, including a league-best .396 on-base percentage, and blasted a career-high 43 home runs.
Soto drove in 105 runs, scored a team-best 120 runs and was tied for the NL lead with 38 stolen bases. Over the final four months of the season, Soto slashed .282/.417/.588 with 34 home runs and 78 RBI. He is a finalist for NL MVP, alongside the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber.