Juan Soto has decided to sit out Monday’s Home Run Derby at the 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia, putting an end to a decision he said he mulled over for quite a while during the Mets’ final homestand before the break.
Soto, the Mets’ only representative for Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic, has already taken part in the Derby twice. His last appearance came in 2022, when he was with the Nationals and won the event.
“I thought about it - I really considered it,” Soto told Newsday before Saturday’s game against the Red Sox at Citi Field. “In the end, I decided not to do it. I want to take my (down) time this year.”
If Soto is in the starting lineup on Sunday, it will mark his 70th start in the Mets’ 74 games since he returned from an April calf strain.
The Derby has long been a tricky call for some players, who worry that all-out swings for one night can throw off their timing once the regular season resumes. Soto said that has never really been an issue for him.
“I don’t know if it really does that to people,” Soto said. “Every player is different. Everybody has a different mentality and a different mindset when you are in (the Derby).
“For me, I didn’t think it messed with my swing much. I feel like it made me better.”
Soto’s own Derby history backs up that view in different ways. When he entered the 2021 competition, he had 11 home runs before the break, then hit 18 in 72 games afterward and finished second in NL MVP voting behind the Phillies Bryce Harper. In 2022, when he won the Derby, he had 20 homers going into the break and managed just seven after it.
Elsewhere in the organization, righthander Matt Seelinger will stay with the Mets after being outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse. The 31-year-old Long Islander made his MLB debut in Tuesday’s 16-12 loss to the Royals. A 10-year minor leaguer from Clarke High and Division III Farmingdale State, Seelinger remains in the organization.
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