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Juan Soto is going to be fine.

Sure, his batting average dipped to .221 after his 0-for-3 game against the Cardinals Thursday night. He drew a walk, but his on-base percentage slipped to .361 and his OPS dipped to .773.

But he’s Juan Soto. He hit a homer in his back-to-back games earlier this week. The New York Mets improved to 12-7 by defeating the Cardinals 4-1 Thursday and they are back on top of the National League East.

On the other hand, this is not the NBA, where a superstar can take over a game. Opponents can pitch around a slugger and effectively take his bat away from him.

At times it could be difficult for Soto to justify his $765 million contract. Soto is not going to bring value as a fielder. Nor can he manufacture runs with speed.

He may not post the gaudy numbers he did with the crosstown Yankees because the Mets don’t have nearly as much power and down their order.

“I had the best hitter in baseball hitting behind me. I was getting more attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks and things like that,� Soto told the New York Post.

The Mets have Soto hitting behind Francisco Lindor and ahead of Pete Alonso. That’s not the same as hitting ahead of monstrous Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, but that’s not bad.

“He's got probably one of the best hitters in the game behind him right now with what Alonso is doing. It's been fun to watch,� Judge noted. “He's hitting close to .400 (now .342, with a 1.138 OPS) and driving the ball all over the field, driving guys in.

“So, they're going to be just fine.�

Writing for ESPN, Jorge Castillo noted that The Polar Bear has been on the attack:

Juan Soto was right: Pete Alonso isn’t Aaron Judge, the best hitter in the world and the American League MVP in two of the past three campaigns. But Alonso has been doing his best impression . . .  His hard-hit rate is in the 100th percentile. His average exit velocity and barrel rate sit in the 99th percentile. He already has posted more than half of his fWAR total from last season (1.3 to 2.1). Opponents have mostly opted to pitch around Soto and attack Alonso, but that changed in Minnesota this week when Soto clubbed home runs on consecutive days. It makes for a dangerous recipe. 

Here is what folks have been writing about Our National Pastime:

Mike Lupica, : “Not every veteran player comes in hot when they come to New York, and you can look that up, all the way back to when Tino Martinez struggled mightily in April 1996 after replacing Don Mattingly at first base for the Yankees. But then Martinez hit a grand slam at the end of the month against the Orioles, turned things around and became such a key figure of the last Yankees dynasty. Anthony Rizzo, who played first base before Paul Goldschmidt got to Yankee Stadium, struggled himself when he came over to the Yankees from the Cubs. Across town? Francisco Lindor, now a great Met, hit .230 in his first season in New York. There are more examples than that across New York baseball history. Just not so much with Goldschmidt, an NL MVP with the Cardinals just three years ago. After Wednesday night’s Yankees victory over the Royals, Goldschmidt -- currently a leadoff hitter for the first time in his career -- is batting .348, has a .397 on-base percentage and is doing his part to make sure that Aaron Judge doesn’t miss Juan Soto the way Soto apparently misses Judge these days.”

R.J. Anderson, : “It's too early to fret about All-Star Game probables, Cy Young Award ballots, or any of those other honorific designations that are best left for later in the summer. Even so, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Hunter Greene’s phenomenal start to the season is doing well to remind people that Paul Skenes isn't the National League Central's only resident hard-throwing sensation.  Greene, 25, has kicked off his fourth big-league campaign in dominant fashion. When he takes the mound on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, he'll do so without having allowed a run in either of his last two starts. Accordingly, he'll take the mound with a 0.98 ERA in his first 27 ⅔ innings pitched. All the while, he's recorded 31 strikeouts versus just four bases on balls. Put simply, Greene has performed as well as any pitcher in the majors. Just what's behind his leveling up? A lot of it can be credited to his signature fastball . . . Believe it or not, he's managed to make his heater even hotter in 2025. To date, he's averaging 99.4 mph on his four-seamer -- that's a 1.8 mph jump from last season and, should it hold over the duration of the year, it would represent a new career-high from someone known for octane.”

Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “What a miserable week for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It began when they removed the Roberto Clemente sign in right field for an advertisement, and then it was discovered that they removed many personalized $75-to-$159 brick outside their ballpark where they were found at a recycling center for building materials. Oh yeah, and they stink once again with the worst offense in the league after doing nothing to augment their young and talented starting rotation led by Paul Skenes. This is the same organization that hasn’t signed a free agent to a multi-year deal since pitcher Ivan Nova in 2016.�

Jesus Cano, Baseball America: “The Pirates may ultimately not be able to afford Paul Skenes or Oneil Cruz, but they could get a steal with (Bubba) Chandler. Pittsburgh is in line to have one of the best front three rotations in baseball with Skenes, a healthy Jared Jones and a rising Chandler. Chandler’s fastball, already one of the best in the minors, has taken a step forward this season, and he’s made improvements with his command.�

Jesse Rogers, : “Are the Brewers this year's Jekyll and Hyde? They're all over the place, giving up seven or more runs in a third of their games while also compiling four shutouts, second most in baseball. Their latest shutout came thanks to recent pickup Quinn Priester. Milwaukee acquired him from the Red Sox a week into the season -- usually marking an inventory/depth addition -- but Priester could end up being the move of the year. He has given up just one earned run in two starts: a solid performance at hitter-friendly Coors Field last week followed by five shutout innings against the Tigers on Tuesday. Milwaukee is looking for some consistency on the mound. Could Priester provide it?” 

MEGAPHONE

“Obviously, half a billion dollars is a huge, huge, huge amount. So like for him, it’s a fantastic deal, and it’s great for the first-base market. I think 14 years, he’s just done well, deservedly so . . . And I think right now, you can’t think of the Toronto Blue Jays without Vlad Jr.�

Pete Alonso, on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 14-year, $500 million contract.