Juan Soto of the New York Mets is back to running, but he's not ready to return to the lineup just yet.
The New York Mets have no answers for their 11-game losing streak right now, but they do have one in waiting. Juan Soto has recovered enough from his right calf strain to start a running program, but he hasn’t done any intense running so far.
Owner Steve Cohen revealed the fact that Soto was back to running over the weekend on social media, and of course there are daily inquiries about his progress. Soto has been hitting in a cage since he was placed on the IL on April 6 (with the move retroactive to April 4), but he needs to have full mobility as part of his running program to get back on the field.
“Yes, he’s still on track,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday in a piece written by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “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.”
Increasing the intensity of his running is the next step, and Soto also needs to be able to incorporate elements such as side-to-side shuffling and start/stop sequences, according to DiComo. His original timetable to return was 2-3 weeks, and Friday represents the end of that timeline.
The Mets offense has been impotent during Soto’s absence. The Mets have scored just 1.9 runs per game with him out, and that number includes being shutout three times. Soto’s slash line .355/.412/.516 with a home run and two doubles before his injury.
While Soto’s return to the lineup will help, a lot of this isn’t about Soto at all. The Mets have been chasing and getting behind in counts, and there have been far too many at bats where hitters only see a pitch or two before they roll over on a pitch and ground out or hit weak pop-ups or fly balls.
The one hitter Soto’s return would probably help the most is shortstop Francisco Lindor. Lindor’s numbers take a dramatic dive without Soto hitting behind him, and he’s had some of the worst at-bats posted by Mets hitters.
“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.”
The homestand starts tonight against the Minnesota Twins, and it also includes series against the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. The Mets can start to climb out of the deep hole they’ve dug for themselves, but the simple fact is they’ll have to hit to do it.