Let’s say 40,000 of the 46,000 or so fans at Yankee Stadium on Friday night for the first game of the Subway Series against the Mets will be rooting for the home team.

In order to figure out what kind of reception Juan Soto is going to get in his first trip to the Bronx since leaving the Yankees to sign with the Mets, you’d have to know what is in the minds of those 40,000 people.

Or what’s in their hearts.

Do they feel spurned? Jilted? Forsaken?

Or do they fondly remember Soto’s one season with the Yankees, one that started with unabashed affection from the fans – especially those in rightfield – and ended with the franchise’s first trip to the World Series since 2009.

On the occasion of the Yankees’ home opener last season, Soto answered the Bleacher Creatures’ Roll Call – his first and only one in pinstripes – by taking off his cap, raising his arms, bowing to the fans, and touching his glove to the interlocking “NY” on his jersey.

Eight months later, on Dec. 8, Soto agreed to his record 15-year, $765-million contract with the team from Queens. He turned down a 16-year, $760-million offer to stay with the Yankees.

How would you feel if you were one of those Bleacher Creatures who showered Soto with daily affection in 2024?

Spurned? Jilted? Forsaken?

That’s why boos, jeers and catcalls will likely greet Soto from the moment he steps onto the field on Friday night to the moment he is announced as part of the Mets’ lineup to the moment of his first at-bat in the top of the first inning. And beyond.

"I don't mind," Soto said on Wednesday night after the Mets' 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh at Citi Field.

As long as Yankees fans keep it clean and classy, they have every right to let Soto know how they feel.

Soto himself presaged the expected reaction when he said in spring training, “You know Yankees fans: They can surprise you with anything. So I’m expecting the worst.”

I was there when Soto said that. He was smiling. Not much seems to get to him, and it’s unlikely Soto will lose any sleep before Friday worrying about the animus that is sure to be coming his way.

In fact, Soto was smiling even more broadly Wednesday when he was asked what he’s looking forward to most.

“To hear the crowd,” he said.

Yankees fans should also consider that Soto was built for moments just like this, and the vitriol will only serve to fuel him. Soto is like Reggie Jackson in that he wants the spotlight on the field, but unlike Mr. October in that he doesn’t crave it off the field.

“It’s going to be fun,” Soto said. “It’s going to be good. We’re going to have a good time.”

Soto would probably be happy to send a home run right into the hands of a member of the Bleacher Creatures. He will emote on the field like the showman he is. But he’s unlikely to feel the need to crow about it afterward.

“He just is the same guy, regardless of what the moment is,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said on Wednesday. “He’s very consistent in his preparation. He enjoys the moment. He also doesn’t make more of it than it is, and he understands he’s got to keep himself centered and focused, and I think he does a very good job of that.”

Soto got the night off on Thursday as the Mets were six-hit by five Pirates in one of their most lifeless games of the season. Soto was ready in the dugout in the ninth inning to pinch hit if needed, but the Mets went down quickly after a leadoff single by Starling Marte.

“Obviously, when you're talking about players of his caliber, they want to be in the lineup,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the game. “I just went back to the weight room about 35 minutes ago, and he's getting after it there. Like, ‘So much for an off day.’ But that says a lot who he is as a player, as a person, that on a day when he's not on the lineup, he's getting after it pretty good in the weight room.”

Soto’s going to get after it pretty good on Friday night at Yankee Stadium, too. So are Yankees fans, many of whom have been waiting for this day to come since Dec. 8.

It should be quite the reunion. Bring earplugs.