Did Juan Soto Fail as a Leader or Is This Just Reality?

Evan & Tiki

Audacy

Sports

4.2 • 988 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Juan Soto’s blunt response about not reaching out to teammates during a losing streak immediately raises eyebrows and fuels concern about his leadership. What sounds like indifference at first sparks a bigger question about expectations for star players, especially when a team is struggling and looking for accountability. Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber unpack their initial reactions before digging into the reality of how injured players are often separated from the team. With perspective from veteran players and comparisons to other locker rooms, they explore whether Soto’s behavior is actually normal, how leadership styles differ, and why perception can shift once context is added.

Transcript

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0:00.0	But last night, Juan Soto returned, and before he returned, he made a comment in his return,
0:06.0	I guess, scrum with the media that opened up a lot of eyes.
0:10.1	And I admit, when I first heard this, my reaction was, oof.
0:15.3	Yeah, that sounds bad.
0:16.8	This doesn't sound good.
0:18.7	For those that missed it, here's the question from Mike Puma, and here's Juan Soto's answer.
0:24.2	Have you been talking to guys throughout and trying to gauge where they're at and try to lift them as we go along here?
0:32.2	No, no, no, no.
0:34.2	I mean, they've been on the road most of the time, so I haven't talked to them. The no, not at all, I haven't talked to them. Yeah. It sounded cold. That would be the way I would define. It just sounded very like... Indifferent. No, not at all. I don't really talk to those guys. I don't care. Yeah. That's what it sounds like. It sounded like I don't care. It sounded like I don't care, and it didn't sound good. But it just didn't.
0:54.4	And it sounded. they talked to those guys, I don't care. Yeah. That's what it sounds like. It sounded like I don't care.
0:56.6	It sounded like I don't care, and it didn't sound good.
0:57.7	But it's also... It just didn't.
0:57.7	And it sounded... My initial reaction was, man, what kind of leader is this guy? He doesn't even care about his teammates when they're going to this horrendous losing streak. But they were also... And he's right. they were on the road.
1:08.3	And so it made me...
1:08.9	Well, they were on the road for part of it.
1:10.2	They weren't on the road the entire time
1:11.5	because they had come back and played some home games.
1:13.6	Yeah, but at the home games, he was... right. They were on the road. And so it made me... Well, they were on the road for part of it. They weren't on the road the entire time. Because they had come back
1:12.6	and played some home games. Yeah, but at the home games, he was there. He was there. No, I know. And that's why his answer wasn't even consistent with the truth. Because he was in the dugout. I was actually screaming this at one point while he was talking. I was like, dude, you did talk to him.
1:25.6	Right.
1:25.9	I saw you in the dugout.
1:27.5	I think at the early stages of it when he was in the dugout,
	...

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