Apr 3, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts on a call strike against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
Mets superstar left fielder Juan Soto revealed that he suffered a minor calf strain while running the bases in the first inning of Friday night’s win in San Francisco against the Giants — a result that appears to have avoided a worst-case scenario at this early junction of the 2026 season.
He is not out of the woods yet, though.
Despite being tagged with a day-to-day absence, Soto will be re-evaluated on Tuesday when the team returns to New York for the start of their homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks to decipher if he will need a stint on the injured list.
“We’ll give it 48 to 72 hours, see how it continues to progress,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I was surprised when I saw him [Saturday], the way he was moving around, but [calf injuries] are tricky, so we’ll wait and continue to call it day to day until we have to make a decision.”
The Mets will understandably proceed with caution, even if that means putting a retroactive date to Friday on an IL stint to shorten, say, a 10-day absence. This is somewhat unknown territory for Soto, who has played in 150 or more games in every full MLB season since 2019.
The 27-year-old is off to a strong start in the second year of his 15-year blockbuster contract. He had recorded a hit in each of his first eight games of the season, slashing .355/.412/.516 (.928 OPS) with one home run and five RBI.
Should he be sidelined for an extended portion of time, the Mets could either roll with Tyrone Taylor — known more for his glove than his bat — as a fill-in option. Mendoza could also move rookie right fielder Carson Benge to left and start Brett Baty in right, meaning Mark Vientos would get full-time looks at either first base or designated hitter.
The Mets reunited with veteran outfielder Tommy Pham on a minor-league deal last week to bolster the depth chart after Mike Tauchman’s strong spring was interrupted by a torn meniscus.
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