Juan Soto exits early with calf injury in New York Mets win

SAN FRANCISCO: New York Mets star Juan Soto was forced to leave Friday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning due to tightness in his right calf, with an MRI scheduled for Saturday.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged the concern after his team’s 10-3 victory.

“The calf area can be tricky. We just have to wait, but there is obviously concern,” he said.

Soto had singled off Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle in the top of the first and appeared to slow down while running from first to third on Bo Bichette’s run-scoring single. He reported feeling tightness as he reached third base.

Following Brett Baty’s ground into a 1-2-3 double play, Tyrone Taylor replaced Soto in left field for the bottom of the first.

The 27-year-old outfielder is in the second season of a record 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets. Last year, he hit 43 home runs and tallied 105 RBIs across 160 games.

A four-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger award winner, Soto has played at least 150 games in six of his eight Major League seasons, missing the mark only during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and his rookie year in 2018 with the Washington Nationals. He has not been placed on the injured list since early 2021.

Soto has started the season strongly, recording a hit in all eight games to date, and holds a career batting average of .282 with 245 home runs.

Previously, Soto has also played for the San Diego Padres and the New York Yankees, cementing his reputation as one of baseball’s elite hitters.