The New York Mets pulled off one heck of a negotiation this past offseason, landing superstar outfielder Juan Soto on a massive 15-year, $765 million contract.

This week, the Mets had to pull off a second grand negotiation with Soto: convincing him to take a day off.

Soto was out of the starting lineup announced ahead of Wednesday night’s game between the Mets and Pirates. It’s the first game he’s missed since joining the Mets.

Speaking with reporters ahead of the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza assured fans that the move was made solely to give Soto an extra bit of rest.

“It’s just an off day. Me trying to take advantage of an off day we have scheduled tomorrow,” Mendoza said. “Hopefully give him a couple of days. It wasn’t an easy conversation last night when I presented it to him, but I thought it was best to give him today.”

The Mets are off on Thursday before heading across town to the Bronx on Friday to play the Yankees, meaning that the day off is worth two full days of rest without travel for Soto.

That said, if the Mets are in need of a clutch hit late on Wednesday night against the Pirates, they’ll have one heck of a pinch hitter available.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mets Manager Says It Wasn’t Easy to Convince Juan Soto to Take the Day Off.

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