As if the Mets weren’t going through enough, star Juan Soto was scratched from the lineup on Sunday before his team’s matchup against the Marlins.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters in Miami on Sunday that Soto is dealing with an illness that he said the team has all been battling for the past week, and Soto himself for the past three days.
He called it “kind of like a flu going around.”
“He showed up with fever today, body aches and didn’t have much sleep,” Mendoza said. “Hopefully, he recovers and we have a player for today at some point.”
The Mets have lost their past three games and are looking to salvage the finale against the Marlins.
Soto’s illness comes after he missed about three weeks in April with a calf strain, and amid an injury-filled season for the Mets.
Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert Jr., Francisco Alvarez, Ronny Mauricio and Clay Holmes are all currently dealing with various ailments, with Lindor dealing with a calf strain of his own and Alvarez on the IL with a torn meniscus.
Holmes also fractured his right fibula earlier this month. Polanco has been dealing with left Achilles bursitis while Robert Jr. is dealing with a lumbar spine disc herniation.
Mauricio fractured his thumb on May 2 shortly after another call-up to the majors.
After a ghastly start to the season, the Mets clawed their way back to a 21-26 record on Monday.
However, they’ve dropped four of five games since then and now seemingly have a team-wide illness to deal with.
They’ll have to rely on the likes of Bo Bichette, Carson Benge and Brett Baty towards the top of the order in Soto’s absence.
