PORT ST. LUCIE — Since the start of the offseason back in October, the Mets have insisted the clubhouse wasn’t toxic last season, yet the narrative has followed the team into spring training. It appears as though it’s going to continue following them until they show people otherwise.
The Mets are finding out that you can’t put genie back in the bottle, at least not in New York. While fans might be eager to point fingers at a villain, there really wasn’t one last year, and heading into the 2026 season, there still doesn’t appear to be one. The perceived rift between Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto isn’t exactly a rift — it might be that they’re simply just coworkers.
“I think it’s a great relationship,” Soto said Sunday at Clover Park. “We talk all the time in the game and everything. We help each other.”
The two are the faces of the team and two of the faces of the league as well. They play in baseball’s largest market and have international appeal as two of the most prominent Latino players.
Bad Bunny, a musician with such global popularity that the NFL signed off on him doing an entire Super Bowl show in Spanish, offered to pay for Francisco Lindor’s World Baseball Classic insurance, something the shortstop confirmed Sunday. Soto is one of the faces of UnderArmour, Celsius energy drinks and Presidente beer.
That doesn’t mean they share many commonalities or interests outside of baseball.
Manager Carlos Mendoza described the clubhouse as “too corporate” last season. It was professional, sure; players got to the park at the right time, did their work, played the game and went home. They celebrated home runs in the dugout together and they shared tips with one another. But they lacked the fire and mental toughness they had in 2024 when they had Grimace, “OMG” and a feeling of invincibility.
“We’ve always pulled for each other, we always wanted what’s best for each other,” Lindor said. “Are we all best friends? That’s not how he works in the clubhouse.”
It isn’t how it works in any workplace, for that matter, and it also doesn’t mean a team can’t win. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal famously feuded for years but still won three straight NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. In the Bronx, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez had a strained relationship, but still won the 2009 World Series together, and now sit on the same TV set regularly as analysts for MLB on FOX.
The foundation of a winning culture isn’t friendship, it’s a mutual respect for one another as teammates and athletes.
“We’re friends, we’re good teammates, we care for each other, we have love for each other, and we want the best for each other,” Lindor said of the Mets clubhouse. “And we have a lot of guys here who seem like they’re going to work hard and they’re gonna do whatever it takes to win. Ultimately, that’s what it comes down to. It’s all about winning and everybody pulling in the same direction.”
Last season has become the season no one wants to talk about. It’s been a bit of a sensitive subject over the last week in Port St. Lucie, but then again, who really wants to talk about their failures? President of baseball operations David Stearns decided early on after the 2025 campaign ended that he wouldn’t run back the same team in 2026. As a result, there are more new faces in camp this spring than there have been in the last few years.
Soto and Lindor both agree the overhaul has made the team better.
“We had a great team last year; this year, I feel like it’s an even better team,” Soto said. “It’s a great feeling, definitely. I played with those guys last year, but it’s a new year. We forget about what was going on last year and anything that happened. We’re focused on this year.”
“We feel like we have what it takes,” Lindor said. “They addressed the defense, they addressed the base running, they addressed the hitting, they addressed the pitching.”
Whether they’re best friends or frenemies or something in between, Lindor and Soto are two of the most important leaders on the team, and that isn’t about to change anytime soon. The slate has been wiped clean, at least as much as it can be, and while the narrative hasn’t changed just yet, once the season starts, the Mets are hoping to win enough to make everyone forget about 2025.
“Have fun, forget about all the drama and everything, focus on the game,” Soto said. “And win some ball games.”
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