Juan Soto sits out of Mets' finale vs. Padres but avoids serious injury
The Mets' Juan Soto, center, looks on from the dugout during a game against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday in San Diego. Credit: AP/Derrick Tuskan
SAN DIEGO — Call it a lucky non-break.
A day after exiting the game after painfully fouling a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning of the Mets' 7-1 loss to the Padres, Juan Soto was out of the lineup, but he was also smiling and walking relatively well Wednesday. X-rays on the foot came back negative Tuesday night and, before their matinee tilt against the Padres, manager Carlos Mendoza didn’t rule Soto out as a possibility off the bench.
“As of right now, talking to Juan and just looking at his face and things like that, I think we dodged a bullet,” Mendoza said. “The hope is that even if he’s not a player for us today, that he could be in the lineup on Friday. Let’s get through today and see what we’ve got.”
After the game, Mendoza said that while Soto wasn't available off the bench, he was feeling better and the manager believed he would be in the lineup Friday.
It was a scary moment for a $765 million man who’s increasingly proved invaluable, even as some of the Mets' other heavy hitters have scuffled. Leading off that inning against Padres starter Ryan Bergert, Soto fouled an 88.5-mph slider off the top of his foot, hopped up the first-base line on one leg and eventually sat down on the grass in visible pain. He was checked by a trainer and opted to resume his at-bat, but walked slowly to the batter’s box and was severely hobbled running out a grounder. He was lifted before the bottom of the inning.
“I’m actually numb,” Soto said after the game. “I don’t feel anything right now. It’s definitely a little stiff . . . [But] think it’s going to be good.”
Going into Wednesday, Soto had only missed one of the Mets’ 108 games. He leads the team in home runs (25), walks (84), on-base percentage (.382), OPS (.871), and is second in slugging (.488) and stolen bases (15).
He was “better but still sore” on Wednesday, Mendoza said. “He’s still getting treatment. Let’s see where we’re at. He hasn’t done anything. He’s in the training room and hopefully, gets in the cages and we’ll see if he’s available or not for the game, but a little bit better.”
The injury “affects everything” — both hitting and running, Mendoza said. “Last night, walking out of here, he was sore just [walking] and again, he hasn’t done anything baseball activity-wise [a few hours before the game Wednesday]. We’ll see what we’ve got."
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
