Overrated: Veteran NL Scout’s Shocking Take on $765 Million Mets Slugger
As teams wrap up their final Spring Training games and prepare for the start of the 2025 regular season on Thursday, it feels like ages ago when Juan Soto was the center of attention in the MLB offseason. The 26-year-old, a four-time All-Star widely regarded as a generational talent, became the focal point of free agency after spending a single season with the Yankees, where he helped lead them to their 41st World Series appearance. Given his elite status, many expected the Santo Domingo native to land a record-breaking free-agent deal.
Soto met those expectations by signing a historic 13-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets—the largest in professional sports history—earning an estimated $51 million annually.
However, is he truly worth it? During his 15 Spring Training appearances for the Mets, Soto has frequently faced chants of “Overpaid! Overrated!” from opposing fans, at one point silencing a heckler by blasting a home run in their direction.
Soto Repeatedly Questioned as ‘Overrated’
The “overrated” label is nothing new for Juan Soto, even before he secured his record-breaking contract with the Mets. In a 2024 anonymous player poll conducted by The Athletic, one MLB player singled out Soto as the most overrated player in the game.
“I feel like all he does is walk and hit singles, and doesn’t hit for power like he’s portrayed,” the unnamed player told Bleacher Report. “Also not a good fielder.”
Now, a veteran Major League scout—also speaking anonymously—has echoed that sentiment. In a The Athletic report published Thursday, the scout described Soto as “one of the most overrated players.”
“He’s not good defensively and he’s not a good baserunner,” the National League scout told The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner. “He walks and he hits home runs every now and then. I’m not saying he’s not good, but for me, he’s one of the most overrated players. The way we value walks today is what puts him in this class.”
There may be some validity to the criticism of Soto’s defense. According to Fangraphs, his 2024 season with the Yankees saw him post a Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) of zero, meaning his fielding was neither a liability nor an asset—it simply balanced out at league average.
How Soto Stacks Up as an Offensive Force
As a hitter, Juan Soto is far from average. According to weighted runs created-plus (wRC+), a stat that measures a player’s offensive production relative to the league average (set at 100), Soto has posted a career wRC+ of 158—meaning he has been 58% better than the average MLB hitter. That figure ranks fourth among all active players, trailing only his former Yankees teammate Aaron Judge, who leads the category at 174.
Soto’s wRC+ also places him 12th in MLB history. Unsurprisingly, Babe Ruth tops the all-time list with a wRC+ of 197, followed by Red Sox legend Ted Williams at 188.
So, does being one of the 12 greatest hitters ever make Soto “overrated”? At an annual salary of $51 million, the answer depends on perspective. For comparison, Ruth’s highest single-season salary was $80,000 in 1930 and 1931—equivalent to about $1.5 million today, according to the Federal Reserve Bank’s Inflation Calculator. Williams’ peak earnings of $125,000 in 1958 and 1959 translate to roughly $1.36 million today, nearly $50 million less than what Soto will take home in 2025.