Juan Soto-led Mets not running away from sky-high expectations

HOUSTON — The waiting is just about over.

After the Mets delighted their fans with an unexpected run to the NLCS a year ago, they’ve only increased expectations following an offseason in which they signed Juan Soto to the largest contract in MLB history — beating out the Yankees in the process — and seem set up to be one of the serious threats to the Dodgers in the National League.

No, they don’t have the colossal spotlight on them like Los Angeles will after a World Series win and yet more roster building with the additions of Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell, among others, but the Mets certainly won’t be able to sneak up on anyone like they did last season.

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To the Mets, though, their goals have remained the same.

“Last year, we knew we had a good team,” Carlos Mendoza said on the eve of his second Opening Day as Mets manager. “This year, it’s the same. [There’s] a lot more noise now from outside — and rightfully so — because of what happened in the offseason, with Soto being one of them, but we’ve got to take it one day at a time, continue to improve, go out there and compete. We know we’ve got a good team, but it’s not gonna be easy. We’re excited and ready for [Thursday].”

But even Mets players acknowledged last year that their play improved when they talked in May about not worrying about the standings after getting off to a terrible start.

This time around, if they start off 0-5 or are 11 games under .500 in early June, there figures to be chaos in Queens.

Still, president of baseball operations David Stearns reiterated the mentality hasn’t been altered since when he arrived prior to last year.

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“From an expectation standpoint, I know that’s a big discussion, we had pretty high expectations last year,” Stearns said as the Mets held a workout at Daikin Park on Wednesday. “I don’t know if it necessarily feels all that different. I know there’s more attention [and] maybe that’s a little different, but we expected a lot of ourselves last year and expect a lot of ourselves this year.”

They’ll start it off with a three-game series at Daikin Park, with three more against the Marlins in Miami.

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Mendoza experienced this type of pressure when he was on Aaron Boone’s coaching staff in The Bronx and Soto did, as well, in his lone season with the Yankees last year.

Clay Holmes brings similar experience with him to the Mets after three-plus seasons pitching out of the Yankees bullpen before he signed as a free agent to start for the Mets.

Holmes said there’s “definitely” a similarity to the pressure the Mets are facing this year to what he felt with the Yankees.

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“You can feel the excitement for the Mets and definitely expectations,” said Holmes, who will get the ball for Thursday’s Opening Day in his first start since 2018.

“The payroll and players and talent we have here, things come with that,” Holmes said. “The most important thing you can feel is how close people are in the locker room, the coaches and players. There are expectations, sure, but there’s a lot of accountability, too.”

And that begins for real on Thursday.

“There’s a standard we’re trying to set here,” Holmes said. “It’s fun to be a part of that. To go into the season knowing you have a real shot to win a championship is what you want to play for. We all feel that and know that. It’s a responsibility we’re happy to have.”