Jun 18, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates his home run during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — Roughly five hours before the first pitch of Wednesday’s middle game between the Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, New York star outfielder Juan Soto took live at-bats and did some throwing in the outfield from approximately 100 feet away.
The slugger has been out since July 24 because of another calf injury that landed him on the IL for a second time this season.
Interim manager Andy Green said that they still do not have a specific return date placed on the calendar yet, but Soto’s swings suggest that he is not too far off, parking one into the second deck of the right-field seats.
“We’ll see how he feels after [Wednesday] and kind of get a determination where we go from there,” Green said. “He hit some balls hard if you guys were watching closely, unsurprisingly so.”
#Mets’ Juan Soto taking some practice hacks early this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/ELVqajxMgi
— Joe Pantorno (@JoePantorno) August 26, 2026
The 28-year-old also participated in running drills in 90-foot increments and went through defensive work in left field. Moving well, he was watched closely by team trainers through every move.
“You want to make sure he feels nothing in the calf and that he’s heading in the right direction,” Green said. “It’s not so much what happened with the at-bats in the given day. It’s ust that he feels good with the workload and can’t really and can’t really answer that until the next day. It’s not a setback if he needs another day. That’s one of the reasons we tend to be relatively cryptic with timelines because you just don’t know how long things take sometimes.”
Both the Mets and Soto remained adamant that he will return before the end of the season, and Wednesday afternoon’s work is further suggestion of just that. When he does return, he’ll be thrust into a crowded outfield picture that already includes AJ Ewing, Carson Benge, and Luis Robert Jr., though there likely will be no shortage of DH days to ensure time on his feet is limited. The trio of Benge, Ewing, and Robert is also the Mets’ best possible defensive alignment.
In 84 games this season, Soto is slashing .283/.408/.539 (.947 OPS) with 21 home runs and 52 RBI.
For more on Juan Soto and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
