Where has the ‘Soto Shuffle’ gone? Mets star says, ‘I just gotta feel it’

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WASHINGTON — Watching Juan Soto in the batter’s box without him performing his signature “Soto Shuffle” is akin to seeing Superman without his cape.

The movement is part of Soto’s aura. The routine is unmistakable. Between pitches, he squats low, keeps his legs spread wide, wiggles his hips, sweeps his feet, sometimes grabs his crotch, and always stares intently at the pitcher.

So, where is it?

After officially passing one month into the Mets’ season, The Athletic needed to know whether the shuffle is coming back.

“It’s going to come out one day,” Soto said with a smile during a brief exchange before Monday’s game. “It just depends — I just gotta feel it.”

The response only led to more questions. What would prompt a shuffle? How much does it have to do with feeling comfortable at the plate? What does it take?

“It takes a lot,” Soto said with another smile.

In this clip below from Sunday, during a game against the Washington Nationals, Soto moved away from a pitch, kept his legs spread, tugged at his groin area, and looked directly at pitcher Mitchell Parker, but it barely qualified as a semi-shuffle. It wasn’t the full-blown version.  It wasn’t “The Soto Shuffle.”

Shufflin’ pic.twitter.com/ixseUoU8Wb

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 27, 2025

Soto has said in the past that the mannerisms help synchronize his timing and fuel his confidence. He started performing the routine in the minor leagues. It’s never been something he does every plate appearance. But he’s done it enough to become synonymous with it. It’s as much a part of his identity as No. 22 — there’s even a logo on Soto’s luggage depicting him shuffling.

Still, 29 games into Soto’s tenure with the New York Mets, there has been no shuffling.

No real shuffling, anyway. Only parts of a shuffle. While facing Josh Hader in the final at-bat of the Mets’ season opener against the Houston Astros, Soto shuffled a bit, wiggling and hitting his hip.

Soto remained cagey about the shuffle on Monday.

“It’s going to come,” Soto said. “You will see it.”

By his lofty standards, Soto is off to a modest start. Through 29 games and 127 plate appearances, he owns a .788 OPS with three home runs (none at Citi Field). His walk rate stands at 17.1 percent, ranking in the top 5 percent, per Baseball Savant. His strikeout, whiff and chase rates are similar to prior seasons.

In the Mets’ 19-5 win on Monday, Soto recorded two hits for the third time in four games.

On Monday, Soto hit an opposite-field double, one of his two hard-hit balls. Despite not getting results in the form of power, Soto’s average exit velocity ranks in the top 8 percent, per Baseball Savant. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after Monday’s game that he liked how Soto was using the entire field lately while still hitting balls hard.

“When he wasn’t getting results, he was still hitting the ball hard, right at people,” Mendoza said. “So it was good to see him go the other way. He’s a great hitter.”

Throughout Soto’s first month, Mets co-hitting coach Jeremy Barnes described Soto as “extremely even-keeled.”

“He knows what he wants,” Barnes recently said. “He’s a professional hitter. He has his routine. He sticks to his routine every single day. He knows what works for him and what doesn’t.”Soto hasn’t yet taken off with the elite production he is capable of after scoring his record-setting 15-year, $765 million deal.

Perhaps a hot streak needs to come before the shuffle makes an appearance? Soto would only say it’s on its way.

 (Photo: Brad Mills / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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