Can Juan Soto save sinking Mets? Return expected amid losing streak
· Yahoo Sports
If Juan Soto wants to win MVP in the era of Shohei Ohtani, his quest begins with a rescue mission.
Soto's first task will be helping dig the team out of its 11-game losing streak. The Mets superstar outfielder is expected to return from a calf strain during the club's nine-game homestand, beginning Tuesday against the Twins at Citi Field against the Twins.
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The superstar outfielder's reemergence comes at a pivotal time. The club enters Tuesday with the worst record in the National League.
The Mets' journey back to relevance will take a demanding effort from Soto and the rest of his teammates; only four teams in major league history have reached the postseason with a losing streak of more than 10 games.
This is Soto's chance to prove just how valuable he is to the Mets in his second season.
What has gone wrong without Juan Soto?
Initially after Soto pulled up wincing as he rounded second base on a Bo Bichette single against the Giants on April 3, it appeared that the Mets might be able to at least stay afloat during his absence. The club scored a combined 24 runs in the final three games of that series — all wins — and walked off the Diamondbacks in the 10th inning of a 4-3 victory when they returned back home.
But since then, the Mets' anemic offense has been the prevailing reason for the club's longest winless drought since 2004.
In nine of the their 11 losses, the lineup has scored two runs or fewer. They have been shut out three times.
"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."
Over the course of the losing streak, the Mets are 9-for-60 (.150) with runners in scoring position. They are walking 4.7 percent as a team.
The club's .200 batting average over the recent skid is fragile, but it's not the worst in the league. Three other teams (Reds, Royals and Brewers) have worse averages, and the Yankees, who have managed five wins during the recent stretch, are batting only 10 points higher.
How can Juan Soto help the Mets?
Soto has a knack for putting immense pressure on opposing pitchers.
A season ago in his first campaign with the Mets, Soto produced a .396 on-base percentage, including a league-high 127 walks. It was the lowest OBP of Soto's career yet still led the National League.
In eight games before the injury, Soto was already off to one of the best starts of his career. He was slashing .355/.412/.516 with one home run, five RBI and three runs. His 160 WRC+ early in the season is elite — it would be 16th in the league among qualifying hitters.
"He's the best left-handed hitter in the game," Semien said after the club's sixth straight loss last week. "We miss him, but we need to get him right. Make sure he comes back healthy. We don't want to see a situation where he comes back too soon and then something worse happens."
The Mets are already short-handed, with injuries to Jared Young (torn meniscus) and the switch-hitting Jorge Polanco (right wrist contusion) adding to the attrition in the lineup. Soto's lefty bat would add further balance to the top of the lineup.
Juan Soto will need support from Mets cast
The Mets handed out a record $765 million deal to Soto to be the type of difference-maker who can change the complexion of the lineup, but he can only do so much in four or five plate appearances.
"Soto is irreplaceable and having him back is going to help us a lot," Francisco Lindor told reporters Sunday. "Hopefully he's back. He's in the top three hitters in the league, probably two, so yeah, he's going to help us a ton. He's gonna lengthen our lineup but even when he comes, we still got to get it done. It would be unfair to throw everything on him as a team.
"We got to come together and execute. That's what it's going to come down to as a team."
The Mets need more production up and down the lineup, particularly from their stars like Lindor and Bichette, but also throughout in run-scoring situations.
During the rut, Lindor is 11-for-46 (.239), actually elevating his batting average from .167 to .205, but he has only driven in one run on a solo home run. Bichette is 10-for-42 (.238) with four runs and three RBI. Lindor is 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, while Bichette is 1-for-8.
Mark Vientos and Brett Baty have two hits apiece in a combined 59 at-bats. No one on the roster has driven in more than three runs.
As Lindor said, Soto can certainly help, but the unit also needs to begin pulling its weight if the Mets have any chance of climbing out of the massive hole they've dug themselves.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Juan Soto to return from injury amid NY Mets losing skid