Juan Soto's return helps, but Mets' roster must play up to potential to end losing streak and turn season around

“Honestly,” Williams said. “I would say all three outings were [caused by] something different.”

Maybe, given that Edwin Diaz needs elbow surgery, the Mets would have found themselves facing ninth-inning questions even if that part of their offseason had gone differently. But as things stand now, they must turn to Williams and other internal options for answers. No teams are selling yet. The Mets, who can rightfully assume they will not play this way forever, might not even know exactly what they should be buying. Because almost no one in their lineup is performing as intended.

Quite clearly, the Mets' biggest problem is their so-far relentless inability to sustain offensive pressure beyond a few innings a game. And in that way, Soto should help. The Mets have scored a total of 22 runs over the course of the streak, or 1.83 runs per game. Soto has 702 career RBI in 1,104 career games — or roughly .635 runs batted in per game. In other words, if Soto were to produce runs at his normal rate upon returning, he would increase the Mets' nightly run production by 33.3 percent.

Obviously, that math ignores some statistical nuance. Still, those numbers are illustrative: Soto can increase the Mets' offensive production dramatically. But even if he adds exactly six tenths of a run driven in per game, the Mets could then count on just fewer than 2.5 runs per game – at least if they keep scoring as rarely as they have during the streak. No other team in baseball is averaging fewer than 3.30 runs per game this season.

“We can’t wait for [Juan] to come back and do his thing. At the end of the day, I hope everybody doesn’t put all the pressure on him,” Lindor said Tuesday. “That would be a little unfair. But I know he’s going to help us a ton. He’s a top three-hitter in the league.”

The Mets had four hits Tuesday night, the fifth time during the streak they have been held to five or fewer. They own the lowest on-base percentage in baseball. Only two teams have hit fewer home runs. Maybe in other versions of this season, a lineup composed of these players would fare better than it has during the first month of this season, when everyone is struggling at once. Maybe, a recovery to a better offensive mean is inevitable.

But right now, it feels impossible. Soto is coming to help, but no one is coming to save them. There is, as Lindor put it, only one way for the 2026 Mets to end this spiral, let alone become the first team in history to lose 12 straight games and still make the postseason: “By winning.”