The Mets' tumultuous April hit another bump on Tuesday with the news that left fielder Juan Soto will be limited to DH duties while he recovers from forearm tightness, which he first felt during defensive drills on Friday.
An MRI exam taken Tuesday showed no structural damage for Soto, who played through the pain over the weekend and hopes to return to the outfield this week. When healthy, Soto has excelled this season, hitting .304 with an .831 OPS.
The news is less encouraging for center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who was out of the Mets' starting lineup against the Nationals on Tuesday with lower back tightness. Robert, who has hit .224 with two homers and three doubles in 24 games this year, is day to day.
Earlier Tuesday, the Mets placed right-hander Kodai Senga on the 15-day injured list with lumbar spine inflammation, recalling righty Christian Scott from Triple-A Syracuse to take his place.
Any aggravation to Soto's injury would be a substantial hurdle for the Mets, who are without shortstop Francisco Lindor (left calf strain) and went 3-12 during the 15 games Soto missed earlier this month due to a right calf strain.
The club's 9-19 start has put pressure on manager Carlos Mendoza, who said Tuesday he has had no conversations with president of baseball operations David Stearns or other team leaders regarding his managerial status -- just routine day-to-day team discussions.