Mets' Juan Soto accused of lying about his age in outrageous claim from sports radio host

New York Mets slugger Juan Soto has been accused by a local sports radio host of being older than his listed age of 26.

'Does he look 26?' asked WFAN's Brandon Tierney. 'Does he? I shouldn't even start this. This is going to get me in trouble… When you're 26, you have a youthful glow. Does he look 26?... I think there's a good chance he's not 26, I'll say it.'

Tierney did caution that he 'can't prove' the baseless claim, but that didn't stop him from continuing with the accusation.

'In my old mind, while I don't know for sure, I think there is a good chance – I'm digging this hole deeper – I think there's a chance, a good chance, he's not 26,' Tierney continued. 'I'll say it. I don't care.'

Soto stunned baseball fans in 2018 by reaching the majors with the Washington Nationals at just 19 and promptly hitting 22 home runs in 116 games. Since then he has remained one of the game's most productive hitters, although he has faced criticism at times for his defense, base running, effort level and conditioning.

Still, there has never been a credible claim disputing Soto's listed birthday of October 25, 1998.

Daily Mail has reached out to Soto's agency and the Mets for comment.

Soto has faced some criticism amid the Mets' current struggles, but the native of the Dominican Republic has hardly struggled at the plate, where he leads the majors in walks and ranks among the top 10 in homers, on-base percentage and runs scored.

But, given the 15-year, $765 million deal that lured Soto from the Yankees to the Mets last offseason, fans have expected more.

Of course, Tierney's comments come at a difficult time for both Soto and the Mets, who have won only two of their last 15 games as they cling to the final Wild Card spot in the National League at 64-57 entering Friday.

Again, the team's struggles haven't necessarily coincided with Soto's performance with the bat as he's still .283 with four home runs over the last 15 days.

One area where Soto has seen a downturn is hitting with runners in scoring position. For his career, Soto has batted .283 with second or third base occupied, but has seen his average plummet to just .188 in those situations this season.

As a result, he's seen a downtick in his RBIs compared to a season ago in the Bronx, where he had 109.

Manager Carlos Mendoza has sought to shield Soto from criticism, telling reporters earlier this month that it's not only the team's highest-paid star that sees to improve.

'Look, man, 1 through 9, whoever is in the lineup, we've got to be better,' Mendoza said. 'And we understand that. And like I said, we're doing everything in our power to get these guys going.'