NEW YORK — Sunday evening at Yankee Stadium was already a mess. The New York Yankees had blown a late lead to the Miami Marlins. The bullpen had imploded. And then, of all names to ring out across the Bronx, it was Juan Soto’s.
The irony was hard to miss. At the very moment thousands of Yankees fans in the bleachers were loudly expressing their feelings about the man who left them in free agency 16 months ago, Soto was sitting in a New York Mets training room nursing a right calf injury. He would land on the injured list the following day.
A chant that carried across the Bronx
The Yankees held a 4-3 lead over Miami heading into the eighth inning on Sunday. Then reliever Jake Bird walked onto the mound and things fell apart. Bird surrendered three earned runs in just one-third of an inning, throwing only 10 pitches before being pulled. New York lost 7-6 and fell to 7-2 on the season.
As the game slipped away, a loud and profane chant directed at Soto rose from the crowd. It was audible enough to be picked up by television microphones. The YES Network broadcast team, led by Michael Kay, chose not to address it on air.
FanSided writer Rucker Haringey noted the chant was a curious display, coming as it did against the Marlins, not the Mets, and more than a year after Soto signed with New York’s crosstown rivals.
“At best, it was a curious chant for Yankee fans to engage in while playing against the Marlins a full 16 months or so after Soto made his choice in free agency,” Haringey wrote. “At worst, it was a sign that a small, but vocal, portion of the team’s fan base has not come to terms with Soto’s defensible decision to head across town for a record payday.”
Soto lands on the injured list for Mets
The reason some Yankees fans may have had Soto on their minds Sunday became even more pointed the next morning. The New York Mets announced on Monday that Soto had been placed on the injured list with a right calf strain.
The injury first surfaced Friday during the Mets’ series opener against the San Francisco Giants. Soto appeared to pull up awkwardly while trying to advance from first to third base. The Mets hoped rest over the weekend would be enough, but the discomfort lingered.
The two-to-three week timetable qualifies as good news relative to what calf injuries can sometimes become. The Mets confirmed the strain is low-grade. Soto, who had missed just five games across the prior five seasons combined, will now face one of the more unusual absences of his career.
Soto with 2026 Mets
The timing stings for the Mets, given how well Soto had been playing before going down. Through eight games in 2026, the outfielder was hitting .355 with one home run, five RBI, three runs scored and a wRC+ of 164. That figure reflects production 64 percent above league average.
Soto slugged 43 home runs and stole 38 bases last season in his first year with the Mets, earning a reputation for iron-man durability in addition to his offensive output. The calf strain now chips away at both.
Without Soto in the lineup, the Mets will turn to reserve outfielder Tyrone Taylor for additional at-bats and will look for rookie Carson Benge to take on an expanded role. Third baseman Brett Baty is expected to slide into left field as the primary replacement.
Yankees fans, the Steinbrenner era and a grudge that lingers
The anti-Soto sentiment inside Yankee Stadium did not emerge in a vacuum. The outfielder spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons in the Bronx, earning two All-Star selections and helping the Yankees reach the 2024 World Series. When he chose the Mets’ record-setting deal over staying with the Yankees that December, a segment of the fanbase took it personally.
FanSided’s Haringey argued the frustration really belongs elsewhere. The Yankees’ unwillingness to fully match the Mets’ offer reflected a broader shift under owner Hal Steinbrenner, who has run the organization with more financial restraint than his father ever did.
The Bronx front office pivoted quickly after losing Soto, signing ace left-hander Max Fried to anchor the rotation. That move has paid dividends. The Yankees entered this week tied for the best record in baseball at 7-2, and Fried has been outstanding. Still, the questions about what could have been have not entirely faded.
As FanSided noted, the most effective way for the Yankees organization to quiet the Soto chants is not to join in but to win. A championship would do what no chant ever could: make the past feel truly irrelevant.
For now, the Yankees hold the American League East lead, Soto is sidelined in Queens, and Yankee Stadium is processing both facts in its own complicated way.
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