Mets Notebook: Juan Soto aiming to return for next homestand

LOS ANGELES — To say the Mets are in desperate need of an offensive spark might be an understatement. But on their final day in Los Angeles, the Mets received good news from Queens. Juan Soto started running this week, and should be able to return sometime next week when the team returns home from a two-city road trip.

“That’s the goal,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. “Not sure when, but at some point in the next homestand.”

The Mets brought pitchers over from High-A Brooklyn on Wednesday so he could take at-bats against live pitching. It was a significant step in his recovery from a right calf strain, but the most important part of his recovery is running. The injury occurred while running the bases, so Soto has to be able to slow down, speed up and round the bases before returning to play. As a left fielder, he also has to be able to change directions and move laterally without pain.

Depending on how he progresses the next few days, the Mets could send him for more imaging, but at the moment, it doesn’t sound like they think it will be necessary.

The Mets have been without the slugger since he suffered the injury in San Francisco on April 4. The estimated timeline for a return is 2-3 weeks, so should he return for the start of the next homestand, which starts April 21 against the Minnesota Twins, he would meet that target. The strain is considered minor.

His return would be a boon to a scuffling lineup. The Mets have lost seven straight, scoring only 10 runs over that span. They’ve been shut out three times during this dismal stretch. It’s not how the Mets drew it up. The lineup isn’t built around any one hitter, but without someone like Soto who gets on base more often than most, the Mets have been unable to start rallies or sustain momentum.

Just about every hitter on the team has been pressing at plate in attempt to try to create offense, which has led to a lot of chasing. This was on full display in Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Dodgers when Alex Vesia struck out the side to pick up the save in the ninth, throwing only 10 pitches, with the Mets swinging at seven of them. Jorge Polanco took a called strike 1, then swung through the next two, Bo Bichette swung twice and took one ball and one strike, and Francisco Alvarez swung on three pitches to go down.

“I think it’s just part of the game when you’re going through it,” Mendoza said. “You’re down one run, you’re basically trying to hit one out of the ballpark, and that’s when the chase comes. At that point, you’ve got to take what the game’s giving, and if we continue to swing at pitches out of the strike zone, they’re going to continue to do that. We have to make adjustments.”

The Mets want to be aggressive early in counts, but can’t be over-aggressive by swinging at everything.

“Being aggressive in the strike zone is what you want to do,” Mendoza said. “The pitcher is trying to get ahead, to get strike 1. Then, they’re going to try to make you chase. The key here is that you’re impacting the baseball.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Jared Young was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a left meniscus tear. The Mets knew this was a possibility when he told the trainers his knee was sore Sunday against the A’s, but were hoping he would be able to avoid going on the IL.

A useful bench player, Young can be used in left field or at first base. He got off to a solid start this season, hitting .350 with two doubles, two walks and two RBI. Brett Baty will get the bulk of his playing time, especially since the utilityman also hits left-handed.

Outfielder MJ Melendez was called up from Triple-A Syracuse to take Young’s spot on the roster and was in the lineup as the DH on Wednesday against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers. The Mets opted to call up Melendez instead of Ronny Mauricio because they want Mauricio to play every day right now, and they don’t have enough at-bats for him at the big-league level.