NEW YORK -- While Juan Soto's calf injury has hardly been the sole reason for the Mets’ 11-game losing streak, it has certainly been a factor in the team’s poor play.
The Mets will at least solve that part of their problem before first pitch Wednesday against the Twins, when they plan to activate Soto from the injured list. All told, Soto will have missed 15 games with a strained right calf.
"It definitely helps, but we cannot put all the pressure on one player,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Yes, his presence in the lineup, nobody’s going to deny that. But putting all the pressure on, ‘Oh, we’re going to have Juan Soto, all of a sudden you start winning,’ that’s not fair for him either. You just have to trust each other. You just have to stay together. But adding him to the lineup will definitely help.”
At the time of his April 3 injury, Soto had hit safely in all eight of his games and was slashing .355/.412/.516 with a homer and two doubles. The Mets were 4-4 at the time but have since gone 3-11 without Soto, leaning on unproven players such as Carson Benge, Jared Young and MJ Melendez to replace him in the lineup. Soto did not play in any Minor League rehab games, instead relying on live pitching from Minor Leaguers at Citi Field to stay sharp. He ran the bases and performed defensive drills on Tuesday, marking his final test before activation.
Last year in his debut season with the Mets, Soto played in 160 games, recording an NL-best 38 stolen bases to go with 43 homers and a Major League-leading 127 walks. Until this year, he had been one of MLB’s most durable players, averaging 160 games per season from 2023-25. He hadn’t been on the IL since 2021.
Understanding how valuable the four-time All-Star is to their lineup, the Mets intend to take things slowly with Soto. He will not play consecutive games right away in the field. Instead, when Soto plays in back-to-back games, at least one of them will be at DH. In this fashion, the Mets plan to work Soto back into their lineup without overtaxing his calf. Once some time passes, Soto will be able to start more regularly in left field.
"Hopefully, [Wednesday] is the beginning of it with him in the lineup,” Mendoza said, “and then we’ll go from there.”
The Mets will need to make a roster move prior to Wednesday’s game to clear space for Soto. The team is currently operating with three catchers, making Hayden Senger the logical candidate to go back to Triple-A Syracuse. A more aggressive move would be parting with veteran outfielder Tommy Pham, who is 0-for-8 with four strikeouts since joining the team.