Juan Soto Scratched Before Mets - Marlins Finale With Illness

Juan Soto was scratched from the mets - marlins lineup on Sunday before the game in Miami because of an illness. The Mets lost a middle-of-the-order bat for the finale while trying to stop a three-game slide.

Soto Sits Out In Miami

Carlos Mendoza said Soto was dealing with the illness and that the team had been battling it for the past week. Soto had been dealing with it for the past three days, and Mendoza described it as “kind of like a flu going around.”

He added that Soto arrived with fever, body aches and not much sleep. That left the Mets with a lineup change on a day they were trying to salvage the finale against Miami after losing their past three games.

Mets Manage More Absences

The scratch landed in the middle of a roster already thin around Soto. Francisco Lindor was dealing with a calf strain, Francisco Alvarez was on the injured list with a torn meniscus, Clay Holmes fractured his right fibula earlier in May, and Ronny Mauricio fractured his thumb on May 2.

Soto’s absence also came less than two months after he missed about three weeks in April with a calf strain. The Mets had clawed back to a 21-26 record before dropping four of five games, and the lineup has had little room to absorb another late change.

Mendoza Watches For Relief

Mendoza said, “Hopefully, he recovers and we have a player for today at some point.” For the Mets, the immediate task was simple: cover one more lineup spot and get through a day already shaped by illness, injuries and a game they needed to finish with something better than another loss.