Soto drawing on lessons from '19 Nats as Mets eye turnaround

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK -- Those wishing to put an optimistic spin on what’s befallen the Mets need only look to the 2019 Nationals, who were famously 19-31 in late May before rallying to play .661 ball the rest of the way, earning a National League Wild Card berth and ultimately winning the World Series.

The most obvious commonality between that team and this one? Juan Soto.

Back then, Soto was a 20-year-old wunderkind who produced a .980 OPS over the team's final 112 games of that season to lift the Nationals.

“I was really young,” Soto said. “Definitely, I learned most of the things that I know right now from that team, in that clubhouse. It was really cool to play with so many veteran players and everything. There were things that we can use in here, things that I can bring to the table and see if the guys like it so we can do it, too.”

Before the Mets activated Soto from the injured list Wednesday amidst a 12-game losing streak, manager Carlos Mendoza and others cautioned against anointing him their savior. Yes, Soto is clearly the Mets’ best hitter -- “one of the top three hitters in the league,” as teammate Francisco Lindor put it. Yes, the bulk of their losing streak -- now over after beating the Twins on Wednesday, 3-2 -- coincided with his absence. But Soto is also just one player in a team game, and in a cruel coincidence, the club lost Lindor to a left calf injury barely an hour after welcoming back Soto.

Injuries aside, it’s entirely possible that the Mets are beyond saving anyway; no team has lost 12 consecutive games and made the playoffs.

But if the Mets do plan to defy history and make a run, they’re going to need Soto at his MVP-caliber best. In his first plate appearance back on Wednesday, Soto parked a pitch just shy of the warning track in center, plenty deep enough to advance a runner that eventually came around to score. In his second, he socked a 104.3 mph lineout. In his third, Soto walked, and in the eighth, he singled.

“I’m just going to bring my 100 percent,” Soto said when asked how much his presence can impact the club. “I don’t know what’s going to be the difference, but I’m going to be out there trying my best to help the team in any kind of way.”

It will take the next five-plus months for the Mets to know if Soto’s return will be enough to save them. So far, they’re 1-0 with him back in the lineup.

In the meantime, Soto will draw upon the lessons of the 2019 Nationals. Asked what specifically he plans to bring from that clubhouse into this one, Soto grinned.

“Those are my secrets,” he said. “I can’t share it."