Mets' Juan Soto returns to team in a (somewhat) limited role in midst of losing streak
Mets designated hitter Juan Soto flies out to center against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
In the 18 days since Juan Soto’s injury, the Mets went 3-12, saw their playoff probability drop from 77.4% to 39.5%, according to FanGraphs, and witnessed endless speculation surrounding manager Carlos Mendoza’s job security.
Mendoza, then, was plenty relieved when he finally was able to slot Soto’s name in the lineup Wednesday — batting second and serving as the designated hitter against the Twins. Soto, meanwhile, said he was 100% healthy, and though the Mets insist they didn’t rush him back from the right calf strain that he sustained on April 3, there are a few caveats in place.
He’s expected to play the field Thursday, “and then [we’ll] reassess,” Mendoza said before the game. “We need to be flexible and we have to stay on top of things with him. If we see that there are a couple of games — two, three games where there’s a lot of running on base, going first to third, first to home, second to home, [running] in the outfield — then we’ll have to adjust . . . It’s fluid but at the same time, we have to be smart with him.”
This will entail off days, too — something that Soto, who’s never played fewer than 150 games in a non-COVID season, has very little experience with (he played 116 games his rookie year but was called up in May).
So, like everything else during this cursed stretch, the good news was tempered. For one, the Mets simply can’t risk Soto tearing his Achilles, and the ensuing precautions will put at least a slight hamper on how much he can contribute. And secondly, while he’s certainly a huge factor, Soto alone can’t save this flailing team.
“He makes a big difference just to have his name in the lineup,” Mendoza said. “But you can’t put all the pressure on him, especially when you’re going through this stretch that we’re in right now . . . It’s going to take all of us to get out of this.”
Though Mendoza said there was no need for a rehab assignment because “he got what he needed here,” there still might be an acclimation period for a guy so accustomed to playing every day. As far as we know, Soto can’t pitch for the Mets, who went into the day carrying a 5.64 ERA during their losing streak. He certainly can hit — he was slashing .355/.412/.516 before getting hurt — but alas, he can only do so one time around the lineup. The rest of the team was hitting .194 over the last 12 games.
Still, “I don’t think it’s going to be any pressure,” Soto said. “I’ve just got to be myself and be out there [and] definitely help as much as I can to get out of this and put the team in the right spot again.”
Soto said the losing streak was “uncomfortable to see from the outside,” but added that he was physically removed from it, since a bulk of it happened on the road while he rehabbed in New York. And though no team has ever lost 12 or more games in a row and made the playoffs, he didn’t seem overly fazed.
After all, it’s far easier to make the postseason since the league went to a 12-team format in 2022, and the Guardians managed to get in last year despite a lousy 10-game losing streak. Soto also won the World Series with the Nationals in 2019, and that team was 12 games under .500 on May 23 (incidentally, they played the Mets that day) and 10 ½ games out of first place on Sept. 14. They ended up winning their final eight games to clinch a wild-card spot.
“I learned a lot of things in all aspects of the game,” he said of that season. “I was really young. Definitely I learned most of the things that I know right now on that team and in that clubhouse. It was really cool to play with so many veteran players and everything. There were things we can use here, things that I can bring to the table and see if the guys like it so we can do it, too.”
What are those things exactly?
“Those are my secrets,” he said, slyly.
They might be his, and they might be potent, but regardless, he won’t be able to do it alone.
Lindor leaves game
The snakebitten Mets took a lead in the fourth inning Wednesday, but at a seemingly significant cost. Francisco Lindor, who’s been heating up of late and was already 2-for-2 with an RBI, reached base on a one-out infield single. Francisco Alvarez followed and doubled to center. Lindor, though, grimaced as he rounded the bases to score and was removed from the game with left calf tightness.
Great Scott!
Christian Scott reported to Citi Field Wednesday ahead of his scheduled start on Thursday in the Mets’ latest attempt to work around their crumbling starting pitching. Scott last pitched in the majors during a promising 2024 rookie campaign that was eventually felled by a torn UCL.
“I want it bad,” Scott said. “I’m hungry for it. It’s tough to be away from the game for a year, getting a little taste of it and obviously getting surgery, but I feel like I belong here.”
Tuesday, Mendoza announced that David Peterson (8.79 ERA in last three starts) would join Sean Manaea as two would-be starters now relegated to bullpen duty. Kodai Senga has struggled plenty, too, but is a poor fit for a bullpen role and is so far retaining his spot in the rotation. After a rough first outing with Triple-A Syracuse, Scott, who was highly impressive during spring training, dazzled in his next two, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts in 10 1⁄3 innings.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
