Juan Soto is back. But can he right the ship for the lowly Mets?
Juan Soto is back. But can he right the ship for the lowly Mets?
Steve Gardner, USA TODAYWed, April 22, 2026 at 1:04 PM UTC
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New York Mets fans haven't had much to cheer about this season, especially during the team's current 12-game losing streak. But help is on the way.
Star outfielder Juan Soto is set to return from a calf strain that has sidelined him since April 4. During that time, the Mets have fallen from first place in the National League East division to the worst record in the majors.
Soto, who finished third in the 2025 NL MVP voting in his first season after signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets, is skipping a minor league rehab assignment and is expected to be back in the lineup Wednesday, April 22, for a home game against the Minnesota Twins.
1 / 0See the top 30 highest paid players in MLB baseball
(Salaries in present-day value calculated by MLB Labor Relations Department, impacted by deferrals and signing bonuses)1. Juan Soto, Mets - $61,875,000
Mets' struggles without Juan Soto
The Mets won their first three games without Soto in the lineup, but have gone on to drop 12 in a row since then.
While the pitching staff has been decent, the supporting cast on offense hasn't done the job in Soto's absence.
All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who hit a three-run homer in Tuesday's 5-3 loss, entered the contest with one home run and one RBI over the team's first 22 games. Prized free agent signee Bo Bichette has just one homer and is hitting .219 − nearly 100 points below his average last season in Toronto.
As a result, the Mets have baseball's lowest team OPS (.617) and are scoring a major league-worst 3.26 runs per game.
"In general, we're not creating those opportunities," manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Sunday. "In general, we're just not impacting the baseball as a team."
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One thing Soto can provide is immediate impact.
The six-time Silver Slugger led the NL with a .396 on-base percentage last season and surprisingly also topped the league with 38 stolen bases. That, in addition to hitting a career-high 43 homers, scoring 120 runs and driving in 105.
How much of a difference can Juan Soto make?
Having his consistently stellar production in the middle of the lineup will help take some of the pressure off Lindor, Bichette and company. But will it be enough to get the Mets back on course for the postseason?
The Cincinnati Reds won a tiebreaker with the Mets last season for the NL's final wild card spot as both teams finished with 83-79 records. Just to get back to that level again this season, the 7-16 Mets would have to go 76-63, a winning percentage of .547.
However, they'll likely have to be much better than they were last season to get into the playoffs. In 2025, just seven NL teams finished with above-.500 records. So far this season, six NL clubs have winning percentages over .600 − with three others at .565 or higher.
Soto replacing rookie Carson Benge, the Mets' weakest regular hitter so far this season, would instantly boost the offense by an estimated 0.8 runs per game, according to Baseball Musings' lineup analysis tool. And that doesn't even factor in Soto's impact on the other hitters in the lineup.
The question isn't really whether Soto's return will give the Mets a significant lift. It's whether or not his return will be enough to get the team back into playoff contention. It's far too early to tell for sure ... after all it's only April.
But one thing is certain: Soto and the Mets have some catching up to do. Snapping a lengthy losing streak is the first step in that direction.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Juan Soto set to return to Mets. Can he save their season?
Source: “AOL Sports”
