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Analyzing how Blue Jays pitchers have fared against Juan Soto

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The Toronto Blue Jays head into New York City to start a ten-game road trip, which will take them up the East Coast before returning to the Rogers Centre. The Jays normally face AL East opponents out of the gate, and they already have welcomed the Baltimore Orioles for a four-game set, but the club has already gotten one NL opponent out of the way (Washington Nationals) and will check off another this weekend when they face the Mets for a three-game set.

The Mets are an interesting team for Toronto, mostly because of the rumours that surrounded first baseman Pete Alonso and Juan Soto this winter with the club. Both players were donning New York’s colours by the time spring rolled around. Alonso always seemed destined to return to New York, but Soto signed the largest contract in sports history to the tune of a 15-year pact worth $765 million, spurning the Yankees to join the cross-town rival.

With the Blue Jays set to face Soto and the rest of the Mets, let’s take a look at how the Blue Jays’ pitching staff have fared against the left-handed slugger in the past.

* Mason Fluharty has not faced Soto before
** José Berríos and Easton Lucas are not slated to face the Mets and Soto this weekend

Jacob Barnes

Of the group, Jacob Barnes was one of the first to face the lefty hitting slugger, with the two facing off in 2018 when Barnes was on the Milwaukee Brewers and Soto was still in Washington. Over the years, the right-hander has faced Soto three times (also once in 2023 and 2024, respectively), and the batter has won the battle so far. Soto has two walks in three plate appearances, and when the two met last season, when Barnes was with Washington and Soto was with the Yankees, the pitcher almost got him out.

Barnes got Soto into 1-2 count in the top of the eighth and then got him to ground out to second, but a throwing error moved the runners and allowed Soto to reach first. Aaron Judge would ground into a double play, but a run would score, putting a run on the board. Washington would eventually win the day, 4-1.

Chris Bassitt

Bassitt has faced Soto nine times over the years, starting when he joined the Mets in 2022 and then multiple times over the past two seasons since joining the Blue Jays.

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It has been a back-and-forth battle between the two, as Soto owns two hits off the right-hander dating back to Bassitt’s time with the Mets, but he hasn’t registered a hit since, going 0 for 4 at the plate. Soto has two walks during that span to get back at Bassitt just a bit, but the pitcher also limited the slugger during the 2022 postseason, holding him hitless through two at-bats. The outfielder would get the last laugh, however, as he and the Padres bested the Mets in the NLWC and advanced that year.

Bowden Francis

Bowden Francis has faced Juan Soto just twice in his career, both of which came last season. It’s a 50/50 split between the two, as Soto has one hit off the right-hander while Francis also has a punchout on the slugger, getting him to chase a low splitter for a swinging strikeout.

Yimi García

Right-hander Yimi García has faced Soto five times throughout his career dating back to 2019.

Between the two, Soto has one hit and one RBI on the veteran reliever back in 2020, while García has won their past three battles, which included a strikeout that got the lefty-bat to chase a high changeup back in 2023.

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Kevin Gausman

Of the Blue Jays pitchers, Kevin Gausman has faced Soto the most, which includes 27 plate appearances dating back to 2018. If there is one pitcher who has struggled against Soto the most on the Blue Jays, it is Gausman.

Soto has owned the splitter specialist over the years, generating a .533/.741/.867 slash line with eight hits (including two doubles and one home run), five RBIs, and a staggering 12 walks. And this isn’t just from Gausman’s days before the Blue Jays; the slugger tagged him for five hits in 11 at-bats last year, which included both doubles, three RBIs, and five of the 12 walks.

Gausman has two strikeouts against the batter and got him to ground into a double play in 2018, but it has been quite some time since the veteran starter has found a way to limit the damage against one of the best hitters in the game.

Juan Soto vs. Kevin Gausman: Year-by-Year Totals Table
Rk Year PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP
1 2018 6 4 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 .250 .500 1.000 1.500 0 0 0 0 1
2 2019 5 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 .250 .400 .250 .650 0 0 0 0 0
3 2021 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 0 0 0 0 0
4 2024 11 6 5 2 0 0 3 5 0 .833 .909 1.167 2.076 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 27 15 8 2 0 1 5 12 2 .533 .741 .867 1.607 0 0 0 0 1

Chad Green

Reliever Chad Green has faced Soto four times in his career, and the two sides own a 50/50 split, with Soto tagging Green for two hits while Green has a strikeout of his own to brag about.

Under the surface, the deciding factor likely goes to the Mets slugger, as one of his hits is a two-run homer from Green’s Yankees days back in 2018. He followed Masahiro Tanaka in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Nationals, and after Anthony Rendon singled to get on base, Green attacked Soto with an inside fastball that caught too much of the plate. Soto quickly deposited the offering over the right field wall, giving the Nationals the win on the day and crediting the reliever with the loss.

For Green, his punch out came last year just after the trade deadline. Brought in to close out the game, Green was facing his old squad and couldn’t be stopped, getting Alex Verdugo to chase a slider before freezing Soto with a slider that caught the top of the batter’s box. To finish the inning, Green also froze Aaron Judge on a fastball down the middle, and he would earn his ninth save of the season.

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Jeff Hoffman

Hoffman is one of the lone arms to face Soto each year for the past four seasons, and also has six more appearances in 2019 from when the right-hander was still a starter for the Colorado Rockies.

In terms of damage, Soto owns three hits in eight at-bats against one of the newest Blue Jays relievers and also has three walks to boast about. Hoffman, on the other hand, has never allowed a run to the outfielder to go along with two strikeouts. If recent history is any indicator, Soto won the 2024 battle (1 for 1), while Hoffman was riding high from 2022 through 2023, getting the newly minted Mets batter to ground out both times.

Brendon Little

The southpaw has faced Soto just twice in his career, with both appearances coming last season with the Blue Jays. Soto went 0 for 1 against the southpaw, generating one walk during his time with the Yankees.

Considering Little is the go-to left-hander in the Blue Jays’ bullpen this year, the chances of the two meeting again this weekend are quite high.

Yariel Rodríguez

Rodríguez has only been in the Major Leagues for one season since signing with the Blue Jays, and he faced Soto twice last season during his lone start against the Bronx Bombers. The right-hander fared well against the slugger, allowing one walk while striking him out in the other appearance, sitting him down after he was caught looking at an inside splitter that caught the top part of the zone.

Nick Sandlin

Another newcomer to the Blue Jays bullpen, Nick Sandlin, has just one appearance against Soto dating back to 2023. The batter beat the pitcher that day, with Soto generating a walk on five pitches, with the four balls not being even close to the strike zone as Sandlin kept trying to attack the lefty batter on the inside part of the plate.

Overall

Collectively, Soto has faced all of the current Blue Jays pitchers that he could see this weekend (so excluding Lucas, Berríos, and Fluharty) for a total of 66 plate appearances and 44 at-bats, generating 12 walks (most to Gausman) while putting forth 17 hits for a .386 average. He also owns four doubles, three home runs, and eight RBIs in that span while being struck out nine times, credited to every pitcher except for Barnes, Little, and Sandlin.

Those stats will change this weekend,d but if the matchup history is any indicator, it will be a tough test for the Jays’ pitchers and especially Gausman, who have to face not just Soto but also fend off Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo.