Juan Soto’s return to the Mets was much anticipated last week, but it has hardly jump-started an ailing lineup.
A team in need of juice isn’t receiving it.
Soto is 3-for-15 (all singles) in his five games since returning from a right calf strain, and his nakedness within the lineup is evident: he’s drawn six walks over that stretch as opponents hardly seem intimidated by the options behind him.
“You can make a case, right?” manager Carlos Mendoza said when asked about teams pitching around Soto. “You pitch around him, and that is kind of what we’re seeing here.”
It certainly hasn’t helped that Francisco Lindor strained his left calf last Wednesday only four innings into Soto’s return from a nearly three-week IL stint.
Lindor, who has been relegated to a walking boot, won’t be back anytime soon.
Bo Bichette has served as the leadoff hitter, removing him from the spot behind Soto in the batting order.
It has left Mendoza to tinker with Luis Robert Jr. and Francisco Alvarez behind Soto.
Neither has produced enough to dissuade pitchers from working around Soto.
After the Mets got swept in a doubleheader Sunday against the Rockies — and scored one run over the 18 innings — Soto was careful to avoid pointing fingers, but it was clear he understood how exposed he’s appeared in the lineup.
Another key component, Jorge Polanco, is on the IL with a right wrist contusion.
The Mets signed the veteran Polanco largely as a lineup replacement for Pete Alonso, who served as Soto’s primary protection last season.
Even before the wrist injury, Polanco was hobbled by Achilles bursitis.
He owns an ugly .532 OPS over 61 plate appearances, primarily as the DH.
“I can’t tell you they are pitching around me,” Soto said. “I had a couple of pitches today to do damage and I couldn’t come through. Definitely, they don’t want to give up extra-base hits, so definitely they are being a little careful, not only with me, but with other guys you have to be careful with in this lineup. It’s part of the game.”
The Mets entered Monday last in MLB with a .625 OPS and it wasn’t particularly close; the equally disappointing Phillies were ranked one spot ahead of them with a .656 OPS.
When Soto returned Wednesday, the hope was that he would provide pop to a sorely deficient lineup. Soto delivered a career-high 43 homers last season, when he finished third in the National League MVP voting.
Soto has homered only once in 46 at-bats this season.
If it’s any consolation to the Mets, last season Soto homered only three times before April 30, over 112 at-bats.
Soto’s scarce power would be easier for the Mets to digest if there were other big bats in the lineup.
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But Alvarez (four) is the only Mets player with more than two homers. Soto (.831) and Alvarez (.760) are the only Mets regulars with an OPS above .700.
“It’s just a matter of time that they are going to wake up and bring the best out of themselves,” Soto said. “I know they are trying their hardest to be their best and be out there and perform. But sometimes things don’t go your way. That’s where you are professional: Keep your head up and keep moving forward.”
In the meantime, Mendoza — fighting to keep his job amid a slide in which the Mets have lost 15 of 17 games — is searching for his own answers.
“It’s hard to explain when you have that many guys that are going through it at the same time,” Mendoza said. “It’s just not a good showing — not good at-bats up and down. You have a guy here and there, but we are not hitting the ball hard consistently and it’s hard to explain, because usually you get three or four guys going through it, but you get four or five guys that can carry you, but right now it’s hard to describe.”
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