Ex-Mets coach suggests major Juan Soto lineup change

Former New York Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez seems to have wanted a Juan Soto-specific change.

Sep 20, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) walks back to the dugout after striking out to end the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

It's hard to imagine that Juan Soto could have been more impactful on offense for the New York Mets than he already was during the 2025 season.

Soto finished the regular season hitting .263 with a .927 OPS, 43 home runs, 105 RBIs, and 38 stolen bases. He also had a .396 on-base percentage, which actually marks the first time in his MLB career that he came up short of a .400 OPS.

Alas, this success wasn't enough to push the Mets into the playoffs. While Soto's offense can't be blamed for this failure, there's a case to be made that the Mets coaching staff could have made one major change that might have made their lineup more dynamic down the stretch.

Sep 26, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after stealing second base against the Miami Marlins during the third inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Eric Chavez Suggests Juan Soto Should Hit Leadoff for Mets

And it seems that former co-hitting coach Eric Chavez (who was dismissed by the team on October 3) wanted this change to take place but was ultimately outvoted, which he discussed during his October 9 appearance on the Foul Territory show.

"The one thing I would say, if you want to think outside the box and get creative, Shohei Ohtani... leads off," Chavez said, per an X post from Foul Territory.

Read more: Eric Chavez sends message after Mets dismissal

"Juan is so good at getting on base, he's so selective, there are times when things are going, and you're in the middle of the lineup... But instead of doing that, where you're telling [Soto] to get out of his comfort zone, slide him in the leadoff spot," he continued. "He steals bases, he gets on base at a 40% clip.

Eric Chavez said he got with Carlos Mendoza a few times this season about trying to get Juan Soto to be more aggressive early in counts and on the first pitch of his at-bats.

Chavez also suggests batting Juan Soto leadoff if the Mets really want to get creative. pic.twitter.com/DxIiYvWkk9

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 9, 2025

"Don't have him get out of his comfort zone and what he likes to do. But you can be just as dynamic in the leadoff spot — if you look at Shohei, and what he has done — without changing the player too much. Just change him where he hits in the batting lineup," Chavez added. "When we moved Lindor from the third slot into the leadoff slot, where he's really comfortable... where a player hits does matter sometimes."

Chavez concluded by saying, "With Juan's profile, and if you want to get creative and think out of the box, I'd think about leading him off."

It's worth noting that Lindor (who was almost always the Mets' leadoff man) finished with 67 more at-bats than Soto in 2025. Those are 67 at-bats Soto might have had if he was hitting leadoff.

While this is definitely an interesting idea, Juan Soto not hitting leadoff was probably not the root of New York's second-half struggles. But this could be something for Carlos Mendoza to try in 2026.