Roger Rubin: Mets' Juan Soto's leadership shows up in early return from calf injury
Mets' Juan Soto hitting a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning against Houston Astros at Citi Field on Saturday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Leadership can show up in all sorts of ways.
The Mets got it on Saturday in Game No. 136 of this season gone awry with a kept promise, a statement that every game matters regardless of the standings and an example for young players that remaining committed to your teammates, your organization and your fans must come first.
Juan Soto said he’d be back from his second calf injury and delivered on that when he was activated from the injured list before the Mets’ 6-2 win over Houston before 29,183 at Citi Field.
He went on the IL on July 25, and — given the standings, the timeline to heal and the anticipated minor-league rehab assignment — a move to not play him was on the table. But after a full workout on Friday, Soto passed on the idea of a rehab assignment for the left calf strain and rejoined the Mets ahead of schedule.
Soto then had the crowd gasping and cheering in the fifth inning. He clearly was in agony after fouling a pitch off his left shin above the protective guard and had an extended visit with interim manager Andy Green and team medical staff before getting back in the batter’s box. Then he laced a run-scoring single to rightfield to open the gates on a three-run rally.
Soto went 1-for-4, and the rally was all the Mets needed with ace Nolan McLean dealing seven strong innings and allowing one unearned run. It was his 10th quality start in his last 11 outings, a span in which he has a 1.76 ERA. Jared Young had three hits and three RBIs.
“I think this is the perfect time to come back,” Soto said. “It’s really frustrating to be down and not be able to help your team, try to perform out there [and] try to have fun with the boys . . . This is the longest I ever been out [two IL stints, including one in April for a right calf strain, totaling 51 games], so I was just focused to try to come back and we actually did it.”
Soto wasn’t signed by the Mets to an MLB-record 15-year, $765 million contract solely to bring his superstar skills to Queens (though we’d be kidding ourselves if we didn’t say it was the biggest and most obvious reason). Owner Steve Cohen and the organization want him to be the long-term centerpiece, the one who sets the standards for everyone else and the one who creates a championship culture.
“He said he was going to be back before the year’s out and he was back before August was out,” Green said. “He’s pushed himself in a way that, frankly, you don’t see a lot of veterans push themselves when your team is in the type of situation that we’re in.”
Green called the effort to get back “a perfect example” for the many young players in the clubhouse.
“Those guys are young and they’re still working,” Soto said. “They’re still learning a lot of things. But they get to see what I did and I hope they can take the positives . . . and take some advice from it.”
He added that the message “[shouldn’t] be show them how I did it. But definitely, whenever they need me, I am going to be there.”
It also has been a bit of a two-way street, with Soto perhaps serving as an example while drawing inspiration from how the club has played — a 14-9 record since the fire sale at the trade deadline. And having him back in the lineup — though it’s likely to be largely as a designated hitter — can only add momentum.
When Soto plays, the 61-75 Mets are 41-44. He has a .283/.406/.535 slash line with a team-high 21 homers and 53 RBI in those 85 games.
“His presence in the lineup [enhances] everyone else . . . [He] is one of a very few hitters in the game that has that impact,” Green said. “As soon as [opponents] see the lineup, it impacts how they attack . . . not just him but those around him as well. So that can have a compounding impact on us.”
Said McLean, “He’s in here every day before everybody making sure he can get back on the field, and that means the world to us because guys like that in your lineup is important. I mean, he’s arguably one of the best hitters on the planet.”
When the Mets signed Soto, perhaps it was never explicitly stated that they would be looking for him to provide leadership. But when he was asked if he hopes to be seen as a player who does that, he replied, “I would say yes.”
He added, “I would love being seen that way because I [put in] a lot to be where I’m at right now. I hope the guys can see that and use it as gas to try to [play] at the same level, or even better.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
