Mar 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) follows through on a single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — If Juan Soto can truly get the Mets out of these doldrums, his $765 million contract will start looking like a bargain.
New York’s superstar left fielder is back from a nearly three-week absence created by a strained calf, and he returns to a team that has had the worst offense in baseball since he hit the injured list. During the 12-game losing streak they carried into Wednesday night’s middle game against the Minnesota Twins, the Mets scored just 22 runs, including 13 in their last eight.
“I didn’t think we were gonna be having this hard of a time scoring runs without him,” manager Carlos Mendoza admitted. “It’s hard to put a lot on Soto. But it’s gonna be good to have him in the lineup.”
Soto was red hot to start the 2026 season, collecting hits in each of his first eight games while batting .355 with a .928 OPS, one home run, and five RBI.
During his 15-game absence, the supporting cast that was supposed to keep things afloat disappeared. Francisco Lindor (.575), Bo Bichette (.581), and Marcus Semien (.555) all had an OPS under .600. Luis Robert Jr. has cooled off significantly, batting .224 in his last 13 games, and Carson Benge’s OPS during Soto’s absence is .376. Both Brett Baty (.471) and Mark Vientos (.468) are under the .500 OPS line, too.
Bo Bichette Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
To say Soto is needed is an understatement.
“It definitely helps, but we can’t put all the pressure on one player,” Mendoza said. “We got a lot of good players in here that, unfortunately, they’re going through it for quite a bit now. Yes, his presence in the lineup, nobody’s going to deny that, but putting all the pressure, ‘Oh, we’re going to have Juan Soto now and all of a sudden, we’re gonna start winning,’ that’s not fair for him either.”
That sentiment is true. One player should not have the power to morph a punchless lineup into a postseason contender, though the thought of playoff baseball is laughable already in the penultimate week of April. No team in MLB history has made the postseason after losing 12 or more consecutive games. If Soto can help turn it around, though, an MVP case would be undeniable.
“He’s going to help us a lot,” Lindor said. “I said it from the beginning, he’s a guy that every lineup wishes they had, and we have the opportunity to have him here, so we can’t wait for him to come back and do his thing. At the end of the day, I just hope everybody doesn’t put all the pressure on him because it would be a little unfair, but I know he’s gonna help us a ton. He’s a top-three hitter in the league.”
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