{"id":528874,"date":"2026-01-20T09:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/528874\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T09:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:05:19","slug":"juan-soto-sends-message-to-mets-teammate-after-personal-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/528874\/","title":{"rendered":"Juan Soto Sends Message to Mets Teammate After Personal Announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Mets<\/a> have been busy this offseason, reshaping their roster and moving on from several familiar faces as a new era begins in 2026.<\/p>\n

The team will still continue to be led by superstar outfielder Juan Soto<\/a> at the plate, alongside shortstop Francisco Lindor<\/a> and infielder Bo Bichette<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The pitching rotation, which faltered after the All\u2011Star break last year, has not received a major reinforcement. That suggests the organization believes its internal options are capable of carrying the load.<\/p>\n

Whether that confidence proves justified remains to be seen, but the Mets may have already found their ace in right\u2011hander Nolan McLean, who emerged as the team\u2019s most reliable weapon late last season.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old made his big\u2011league debut in late August and thrived immediately, showing no signs of struggle despite the elevated competition.<\/p>\n

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He finished the year with a 2.06 ERA, a 5\u20111 record and 57 strikeouts across just 48 innings in 2025, cementing himself as one of the most promising young arms in the organization.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22)\u00a9 Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(\u00a9 Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

McLean’s breakout has naturally shifted attention to his offseason, where he is focused on building upon the success of his debut campaign.<\/p>\n

Beyond the mound, McLean also shared a personal milestone this winter, announcing his marriage to longtime partner Avery in a joint post on Instagram. Soto was quick to congratulate his teammate, leaving a message that read, \u201cCongrats bro! Big fan \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\udd25.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"New<\/p>\n

New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto comments under teammate Nolan McLean\u2019s Instagram post on Jan. 17, 2026&commat;juansoto&lowbar;25 on Instagram<\/p>\n

(&commat;juansoto&lowbar;25 on Instagram)<\/p>\n

The moment underscored both the camaraderie within the clubhouse and Soto\u2019s influence as the centerpiece of the Mets\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n

Soto\u2019s first season in Queens was a resounding success. The 27\u2011year\u2011old left-handed slugger signed a record\u2011breaking 15\u2011year, $765 million contract last offseason and delivered in 2025.<\/p>\n

He broke the franchise record for walks in a single season with 127, showcasing his trademark plate discipline. He also added another dimension to his game, leading the league with 38 stolen bases.<\/p>\n

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At the plate, Soto remained dominant, posting a .263 batting average, .396 on\u2011base percentage, .921 OPS, 43 home runs and 105 RBIs across 160 games. As the Mets enter 2026, Soto stands as the driving force behind their hopes of contending.<\/p>\n

Related: Mets Announce Trade With Guardians Amid MLB Free Agency<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jan 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Mets have been busy this offseason, reshaping their roster and moving on from several familiar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,88,227,134,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,2517],"class_list":{"0":"post-528874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-mets","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-bo-bichette","10":"tag-francisco-lindor","11":"tag-juan-soto","12":"tag-mets","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-mets","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkmets","18":"tag-nolan-mclean"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115926632374842363","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}