The Mets, losers of 11 in a row, could use a boost. Perhaps a boost like four-time All-Star Juan Soto.
Fortunately for New York, the club still anticipates Soto (right calf strain) will be back in the fold at some point during the upcoming homestand, which begins Tuesday against the Twins and runs through next Thursday, April 30.
Soto was placed on the 10-day IL on April 6, retroactive to April 4.
“Yes, he’s still on track,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday. “Not sure which day, but as of right now, the plan is for him to start playing for us at some point in the next homestand.”
Soto took his biggest step toward his return to the field last Tuesday, with Mets owner Steve Cohen revealing on X that the outfielder began a running progression. That was key to go alongside other baseball activities, like hitting in a cage, that he’d been doing since the days following his IL placement.
The club now needs to see Soto increase the intensity of his running program, while incorporating elements such as side-to-side shuffling and starting/stopping. With an original timetable of two-to-three weeks, Soto is right on track, as Friday would represent the three-week mark.
In the meantime, the New York offense has been lifeless in Soto’s absence. The Mets have scored just 1.9 runs per game without him, including three scoreless outings.
Only one other team -- the 2017 Dodgers -- has lost 11 games in a row then made the playoffs in the Wild Card Era (1995). Can Soto’s impending return help the Mets turn this thing around, with the 2026 season already teetering in late April?
Soto was hitting .355/.412/.516 with a home run and two doubles before his injury.
“I mean, like I said earlier, Soto is irreplaceable. And having him back is gonna help us a lot,” Francisco Lindor said. “Hopefully, he's back. And [when he is], he’s a top three hitter in the league, probably top two. So, yeah, he's gonna help us a ton and he's gonna lengthen the lineup.
“But even when he comes [back], we still got to get it done. It would be unfair to just throw everything on him. As a team, we got to come together and execute. That's what it's gonna come down to.”