NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets are facing uncertainty around star outfielder Juan Soto just as shortstop Francisco Lindor prepares to return from injury.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he cannot rule out placing Soto on the injured list after the slugger left Tuesday night’s 9-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs following the fourth inning, citing a tight back. Soto was spotted in the dugout with a wrap around his back, and he underwent medical imaging ahead of Wednesday’s scheduled doubleheader.
Mendoza said he hoped Soto might be available at some point during Wednesday’s games, but expressed clear concern about the superstar, who is currently in the second year of a 15-year, $765 million contract.
“We’ve got to wait,” Mendoza said. “Obviously not ideal when a player like him come out of a game. Those guys are tough and they know how important they are and they take pride on being in the lineup everyday and posting. I just didn’t like how he looked yesterday. We’ve got to wait.”
Lindor, 32, is expected to be activated before Wednesday’s second game of the doubleheader. The shortstop has been out since straining his left calf while running the bases against the Minnesota Twins on April 22 — coincidentally the same day Soto returned from an 18-day stretch on the injured list due to a strained right calf.
Lindor played his third rehab game Tuesday with Triple-A Syracuse, going 2 for 5 with two runs scored. He made the four-hour drive back to New York after the game, which led the Mets to hold off on activating him until Wednesday.
“Everything checked out well after the game last night but he got in late, so we told him to kind of recover this morning,” Mendoza said. “We anticipate him being in the lineup.”
Mendoza noted the team will take a careful approach with Lindor, who is coming off the longest injured stint of his 12-year career. Having missed just 15 games over the previous four seasons combined, Lindor is expected to sit out Thursday and will get more opportunities as a designated hitter going forward.
The two stars have appeared in just nine games together this season for the last-place Mets, a team that has never fully bounced back from a 12-game losing streak that occurred during Soto’s earlier absence. New York — which last finished in last place back in 2003 — currently sits seven games behind the final National League playoff spot.
“I’m just worried about Soto,” Mendoza said. “I’m not thinking about Lindor back, Soto out. It is what it is, right? Hopefully we can get those two in the lineup for a long time here for the rest of the season and we can make a run at it.”
Mendoza also announced that struggling starting pitcher Kodai Senga is being reassigned to the bullpen. Senga surrendered seven runs in just 3 2/3 innings on Tuesday, pushing his ERA to 10.08. He has not recorded a win since June 12, 2025, when he also suffered a hamstring injury while covering first base in a game against the Washington Nationals.
Known as a creature of habit, Senga has made only one relief appearance in his time with the Mets — throwing the final 1 2/3 innings of Game 6 of the 2024 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“We’re going to adjust his routine, he’s going to have to adjust his routine,” Mendoza said.
