Juan Soto Used a Dating Analogy to Explain His Bond With Francisco Lindor

The New York Mets are 36-52 and buried in last place in the NL East. That’s the big picture nobody can ignore. But inside the clubhouse, there’s a smaller story that Juan Soto wants to clear up.

Soto sat down with The Athletic’s Will Sammon this week and addressed the chatter around his relationship with fellow superstar Francisco Lindor. Reports earlier this season suggested the two had some friction, that the chemistry wasn’t there. Soto didn’t deny the dynamic needed work. He just framed it differently.

“When you meet a girl, you don’t start kissing her right away,” Soto said.

That’s the quote that jumped off the page. Talkin’ Baseball shared it on X and people ran with it. It’s a weirdly honest and human way to explain something that usually gets spun into clichés about “continuing to build” or “finding a rhythm.” Soto went another direction entirely.

The point he was making isn’t complicated. Trust between teammates doesn’t just appear because two All-Stars land in the same lineup. It takes shared reps. It takes conversations in the dugout and on the bus. It takes time. And this season, injuries and lineup shuffling have kept Soto and Lindor from getting that time together on a regular basis.

Last year wasn’t an issue, Soto insisted. The perception that there was some kind of personal beef? He pushed back on that hard. This is more about circumstance than conflict.

Still, the Mets have invested over $1 billion combined in these two guys. That’s not a number you throw around lightly. They need Soto and Lindor to be the kind of duo that carries a franchise, not two guys who share a clubhouse and little else. If the relationship is still in the getting-to-know-you phase, that’s fine. But the Mets are running out of runway this season to figure it out.

New York has dealt with a manager change. They’ve dealt with injuries to key players. They’re 16 games behind the Braves. The season is essentially over in terms of contention. But the front office is looking at the long arc. And Soto’s comments suggest that while the wins aren’t there yet, the foundation between the two stars is at least being laid.

It’s not a kiss on the first date. But maybe that’s okay for now.