Juan Soto Passes the 'Eye Test' Despite Slump, Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza Says

New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto, who signed the largest contract in professional sports history last December at 15 years and $765 million, is hitting just .224 with eight home runs and 25 RBI in 55 games after a 9-4 loss to the last-place Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. He has now gone hitless in his last 18 at-bats.

Naturally, there's panic among Mets fans, but manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after the Mets' defeat that Soto passes the "eye test."

"Today was one of those days where he didn't hit the ball hard, but I thought his foundation -- his lower half -- was in a better position," Mendoza said, per ESPN News Services.

There's two ways to look at this.

On the glass half-empty side, Soto is hitting just .119 in his last 59 at-bats (seven hits), and he doesn't have a home run since May 9, as noted by ESPN News Services. He hasn't come through in high-leverage situations, hitting just .130 with runners in scoring position. Simply put, Soto's in a major slump right now, and that's a tough pill for the Mets to swallow given the team's investment in him as the player who could catapult this team to a World Series title.

On the glass half-full side, we are barely two months into the MLB season. It's certainly possible that Soto gets scorching-hot this summer and turns the first third of his season into a distant memory. The 26-year-old is a five-time Silver Slugger and four-time All-Star who had 41 home runs and 109 RBI alongside a .989 OPS last year for the New York Yankees.

The Mets have also seen a superstar slump mightily only to turn his season around in short order. Francisco Lindor was even worse off last year, hitting .098 on April 11 and .193 on May 20, but he ended up finishing second in the NL MVP race to Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and leading the team to the NL Championship Series.

So the Mets obviously hope Soto can have a similar comeback. He has a great chance to break out of the slump quickly this weekend when the Mets host the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies from Friday through Sunday.