Juan Soto’s New York controversy proves Toronto was right to stay away

That is the real Toronto angle from the latest Mets mess. Jays Journal argued the Blue Jays may have dodged a disaster by missing on Soto, and the timing is hard to ignore.

The backdrop is ugly enough already. New York fell to 9-16 and had just snapped a 12-game losing streak, a skid that pushed the club into a brutal early hole despite one of baseball's biggest payrolls.

Then Soto gave the quote that made everything louder. During his injury absence, he said he had not been talking with Mets teammates because they had been on the road most of the time.

That is the part that lands badly. Soto is not just another star in that clubhouse. He is the face of the franchise after signing a 15-year, $765 million contract before the 2025 season.

Players do not need to fake leadership. But when a team is drowning through a 12-game slide, fans expect the franchise player to sound connected to the room, not separated from it.

The Blue Jays have their own flaws, and their 10-14 start says that clearly. But this is where Toronto starts to look better by comparison.

Jays Journal made that case directly by pointing to injured Blue Jays who stayed visibly plugged in. Cody Ponce showed up around the club after his ACL injury, while George Springer kept traveling and staying in the dugout during his toe recovery.

That does not make Soto a bad teammate by itself. It does mean his public answer was tone-deaf, especially for a player carrying that contract, that spotlight, and that much responsibility in Queens.

Toronto fans know how close these superstar chases can get in the winter. Missing out usually feels like failure at the time, especially when the player is one of the biggest bats in the sport.

Now it feels different. The Blue Jays reached the World Series in 2025 without Soto, while the Mets are trying to climb out of another early spiral with their centerpiece already drawing side-eye for one careless comment.

That is why this story matters north of the border. It is not really about one quote. It is about what kind of pressure comes with handing one player the keys to the whole operation.

Soto can still mash and make this look small by summer. But for now, the Blue Jays have every reason to feel like missing on him may have saved them from a very expensive headache.