Padres star Juan Soto urges team to wake up, chides overpriced roster for not living up to potential
San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto has emphasized that it is time for the team to start winning games now and not wait for later in the season. While the Padres blew away the San Francisco Giants 10-0 in the final game of a dismal series, they find themselves fourth in their division with a 36-39 record so far. Soto has made it clear that they must start winning games right away and not get complacent by thinking there's time to get back on track.
Juan Soto is well-known in the MLB as one of the best young hitters in the league. He made his debut with the Washington Nationals in 2018 and had an instant impact, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He went on to help them win the World Series in 2019 while also winning the Babe Ruth award and picking up three Silver Slugger awards in his career so far.
In August 2022, he was traded to the Padres and went on to sign a one-year, $23 million contract with them for the 2023 season.
While Juan Soto himself had a slow start to the 2023 MLB campaign, he has since picked up the pace and put in some impressive performances. However, his team continues to struggle and finds themselves in danger of letting their season get away.
After their humiliating series loss to the Giants, Soto reiterated the need to start winning and called on his teammates to show some urgency toward saving their season. He explained that they cannot wait until later to get their act together as time is running out for them.
"We've got to start winning games, like right now," said Soto. "We can't wait to the last game of the season to say, 'Oh, now we go.' We gotta go from now."
Juan Soto and the Padres thrash the Giants in final game of the series
The San Diego Padres thrashed the San Francisco Giants 10-0 in their final game of the series. Having lost the first three games already, the huge win did little to make a difference other than to lift the spirits in the dressing room. Juan Soto was at it again, getting two hits and two runs in three at bats during the game. In fact, the whole lineup was on fire as they went on to score 10 runs. Soto will be happy with the team's reaction and will be hoping that they can carry on in this way and save the MLB season before it is too late.