The Soto Shuffle made an appearance at Citi Field. One of these days, maybe Juan Soto will follow.

The official paid attendance for Wednesday’s weather-moved matinee at Citi Field was 34,021.

Juan Soto was lucky the actual number of fans who showed up was probably fewer than a third of that total, because the boos for another lackluster effort at the plate were perhaps the loudest he’s heard in a Mets’ uniform.

It’s possible the acoustics of the sparsely-populated ballpark played a role. But the Citi crowd apparently isn’t swallowing their frustration anymore with a $765 million superstar that’s now had two months to get adjusted or comfortable or whatever alibi we’re using now to explain this shockingly sub-par performance.

Soto went 0-for-4 with three weak groundouts, two of them roll-overs to first base, and also whiffed in the Mets’ dismal 9-4 loss to the lowly White Sox. He’s now hitting .224 on the season, hasn’t homered in 73 plate appearances and his .745 OPS ranks 88th in the majors, a tick higher than the Rays’ Brandon Lowe.

Despite all that snowballing mediocrity, there was one surprising development during Wednesday’s slog -- the return of the Soto Shuffle. What had been a Soto trademark was reduced to a rumor since coming to Flushing, with observers anxiously on the lookout for his signature slide-step as if it were Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

But for whatever reason, Soto finally unholstered the move Wednesday during his six-pitch walk in the third inning. We also got the head nod and stare at White Sox starter Shane Smith. As suddenly as it appeared, however, the shuffle vanished just as mysteriously, leaving onlookers to wonder what the heck happened.

That was among a number of questions reporters planned to pitch to Soto after Wednesday’s loss. But he was unavailable in the postgame clubhouse, with a team official saying that it was typical for him to leave before the door even opened to the media -- at least on days when Soto didn’t play a significant role in the outcome. That’s unusual behavior for the Mets, as most if not all of the players tend to stick around, regardless of what they did in the game.

Instead, manager Carlos Mendoza was left to answer for his absent rightfielder, and he didn’t veer from the relentlessly-positive company line when it comes to Soto’s struggles.

“It’s not the shuffle,” Mendoza said, smiling. “I think it’s just him being in the at-bat. For me, his lower half was in a better place, even though he didn’t hit the ball hard today.”

Again, that was another topic for Soto to answer had he hung around for the media. Maybe there were signs of improvement even if the results didn’t explicitly point to any progress. But what we did witness from him at the plate -- aside from that brief shuffle -- did not suggest that Soto was on the verge of a breakthrough.

All along, Mendoza has blamed bad luck on Soto’s sluggish start, referring to his nightly exit velocities. And there is something to that, as Soto’s average of 93.9 mph is tied for eighth in the majors, with the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber and his former Padres teammate Fernando Tatis Jr.

Unlike those two, however, Soto’s exit-velo pop hasn’t translated to much meaningful production. And whatever speed Soto had mustered slowed to a crawl Wednesday, as none of his three grounders cracked 70 mph. When Soto’s being prime Soto, he’s going to the opposite field with pitches on the outside edge of the plate. On Wednesday, he turned those same pitches into feeble grounders to first base.

That’s hard to explain. And it’s inevitable that a malfunctioning Soto would have a domino effect on the rest of the Mets’ lineup, which is performing well below expectations. Without Soto playing up to his game-wrecking potential, he’s too often leaving a hole in the top third of the order, and that tends to derail the whole operation.

Fortunately for the Mets, they’ve managed to overcome this Soto scuffle for the most part. Even with Wednesday’s loss, Mendoza & Co. are still 12 games over .500, trailing the first-place Phillies by two games. But the Mets should be much more dangerous offensively, and their success has been somewhat stunning for a team that’s hitting just .211 with runners in scoring position, the fourth-worst mark in the majors (behind the White Sox, Orioles and Rangers).

“The way I look at it, if this is us struggling and we’re winning games, imagine when we’re not,” said Mark Vientos, whose three-run homer Wednesday was the Mets’ only sign of life. “I don’t think the whole season is going to be like this. That’s just baseball. You’re always waiting for that hot streak, and I know it’s coming for us.”

Vientos put struggling in air quotes, and he’s right to some degree. The record shows the Mets are playing winning baseball. But they’ve been doing so in spite of their $765 million slugger, and that’s probably not a sustainable formula over the remainder of the regular season -- and certainly not come October, where the Mets expect to be.

And if Soto is still getting used to his crosstown switch, defecting from the Yankees to the Mets, an increasingly hostile Citi Field isn’t going to help. Getting booed in the Bronx was expected, but still unpleasant to endure. Having to listen to that in his new Flushing home, where Soto presumably will be playing for the next 14 years, is going to make life even more difficult than it’s been so far -- for everyone around him, too.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.