Every time you think that the New York Mets are finally aboard a steady ship, the turbulence rocks them harder. Two straight wins had given them life again for their playoff push. But on Wednesday, that breather turned into frustration as they lost against the San Diego Padres. A grand slam from Manny Machado off David Peterson in the fifth inning sealed their fate with a 7-4 score. That left the Mets at 78-74!

Yes, they still hold the third and final Wild Card spot. But the issue is that it’s just 1.5 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. So, the room for error is as thin as paper, and not to mention, just 10 games remain in the regular season. And for Juan Soto, the time to win is now, and he is being loud and clear about it.

“We’ve got to get going today; we cannot wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow’s going to be too late; we’ve got to get going today, right now,” said Soto. Spoken like a true leader, hasn’t he? But is he a leader in the clubhouse? This is because, right now, the Mets’ poor run is squarely falling on his shoulders—call it the byproduct of the $760 million or not. And across the division, Phillies star Nick Castellanos offered a sharper lens on what exactly is expected of Juan Soto.

“But um, there are a lot of different hats you have to wear when you’re making $50 million, you know, or anything over 20, you know, like that, because you are expected to bring something to the team that isn’t just statistical value anymore,” Castellanos, the Phillies $100 million man, said. And where is the lie? Juan Soto was supposed to be the franchise cornerstone. And those players are known to do more than bring numbers in the game—they are supposed to lead. Think Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani. They bring in confidence, and they carry the team forward.

Also, leadership, or lack thereof, has been a topic in Mets town. Talks about how all is not good in the Mets clubhouse, and of a possible rift that has also made it into the rumors. And it can be possible, because there are too many stars in one pot, not to mention Lindor was snubbed as leader when Soto came in. To Juan Soto’s credit, he has been doing great on a personal level. Even though the Mets have collapsed from going 45-24 to 33-50 now, Soto has done what he does best—smash home runs. Right now, he has 41 home runs and is on the edge of a new career high, and also his fourth 100 RBI season. So, he did what he was expected to do.

However, this is the pain point—he was paid not just as a bat, right? He was brought in to be a piece to push the Mets to the World Series. But that is far from it now. Right now, even reaching the playoffs would be a miracle for them.

David Stearns comes clean about their trade deadline decisions

The New York Mets honestly had a shot at making it deep in the postseason. And that is why they went above and beyond during the trade deadline. They snagged relievers Tyler Rogers, Ryan Helsley, and Gregory Soto, and center fielder Cedric Mullins. On paper, it felt like this could solidify their postseason dreams. But fast forward to a month and a half from that, and the reality has been far from kind.

Since July 31, the Mets have stumbled, and Helsley’s 10.29 ERA has been a nightmare for the team. Mullins, meanwhile, is hitting just .188—and the rest of the new faces haven’t made much of a difference. And of course, the Mets’ president of baseball operations, David Stearns, was questioned about their additions and if he would change anything about his trade deadline decisions. And well, he has been refreshingly open and honest about it. Stearns said, “If I knew exactly how our season was going to play out, absolutely. But we make the decisions we make at the time with the information we have. I’m very comfortable with the process we went through that led us to those decisions.” While his answer was honest, it also highlighted how far their season has unravelled for them.

Injuries to arms like Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea have gutted the rotation. Meanwhile, every bat outside of Soto and Mark Vientos is missing from doing anything nominal. The only silver lining right now is their pitching prospects—Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat. And they all have made their debut, and McLean in particular looks like a big deal.

But relying on prospects during the postseason is far from ideal!