JUPITER, Fla. -- Spring Training is less than a month old, yet for the Mets, it feels like
President of baseball operations David Stearns has been pleasantly surprised by Soto’s sense of humor, one that trends in the opposite direction from the intense focus he displays between the lines.\n\n\"He likes to have fun; he's a funny guy,” Stearns said. “I think when you watch him across the field, he takes his craft so seriously, and that's also what came across in our meetings with him, is how seriously he takes his craft, how much he thinks about hitting. Seeing him interact with his teammates on a daily basis, interact with the staff on a daily basis, it's business when it's in the cage, and it's business when it's \\[on the field\\], and then when it's \\[in the clubhouse\\], it's fun and it's humor, smiling. That's cool to see.”\n\nGiven the spotlight that has shined on Soto during his career -- and specifically during his free-agent sweepstakes -- it wouldn’t have been surprising for him to take some time adapting to his new surroundings. That hasn’t been the case.
\"It feels like he's been here a while; it doesn’t feel like his first three weeks,\" lefty David Peterson said. “It's personality. He's tried to get to know all the guys and tried to do everything to get himself acclimated. He’s been awesome to have around in the clubhouse.”\n\nSoto’s personality has made for a seamless transition, where despite his massive contract and star power, he’s been able to fall in as just another one of the guys.
\"He has great personality; very humble and he cares about people,” Mendoza said. “I think you have to give credit to the guys in that locker room that made him feel that way, as well. He’s making a big transition; everything that happened in the offseason with his contract, to see him just being the same guy, being relaxed, it seems like he's been here for quite a bit now.”
**Nimmo still sidelined**\n\n