FLUSHING, NY — There was no way Juan Soto was going down in his return from the injured list without putting up a fight.
Missing 46 games combined this season due to a calf strain in his right leg back in April (15) and left leg last month, the 27-year-old Dominican superstar had been sidelined since July 24th (31 games) ahead of Saturday’s matchup between the Astros and Mets at Citi Field.
And before it all started, Soto, batting second in the lineup while serving as the Mets’ designated hitter, first had a brief pregame exchange in short centerfield with Jeremy Peña and José Altuve.
Jeremy Peña, José Altuve and Juan Soto share a moment during Saturday afternoon’s Astros-Mets pregame at Citi Field – Image Credit: Maz Adams/Latino Sports
Then the three-time LatinoMVP Award winner (NL in 2025/2021 & AL in 2024) received Saturday’s honorary first pitch behind the plate from Dominican rapper Lápiz Conciente, 43, who is considered a hip hop pioneer in the Dominican Republic and from the same city in the Dominican as Soto, the capital of D.R., Santo Domingo.
Not bad for his first game back on the diamond.
“Feels good to be back,” he said after the Mets defeated Houston by a final of 6-2, with Soto making an impact on a fifth-inning go-ahead RBI single to drive in Francisco Lindor and lift New York up 2-1.
“It’s just a great feeling to be a part of the team and part of the game. Trying to help the team as much as you can out there, it feels really cool.”
A not so cool moment for the crowd of 29,183 and for sure Soto was right before the six-time Silver Slugger and five-time All-Star recorded his first hit off the IL and 53rd RBI of 2026—the pitch prior—he fouled a Cristian Javier 2-2 94-MPH four-seamer that shot off his right leg.
“It was really frustrating,” he said. “At the time, everything went through my mind but definitely I tried to stay positive and tried to think the best way possible to get out of it. And little by little, it was getting better and I just said, ‘F–k it, I’m gonna try to push through it, I’m not gonna take too long here.’ I gotta be out there.”
Juan Soto was activated from the injured list Saturday afternoon and made an impact in his first game back, recording a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning vs. Houston – Image Credit: Maz Adams/Latino Sports
Baseball is better when Juan Soto is healthy and back to doing Juan Soto things on the diamond such as what Queens witnessed Saturday afternoon—making an impact in his return from the injured list (1-4, one RBI and one run scored).
However the Mets, interim manager Andy Green and Soto are playing it day-to-day in terms of his availability and for now, he will strictly serve as the team’s DH.
“I feel pretty comfortable, definitely with my calf,” Soto said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to remember I came (back) a little (quicker) than I expected. I didn’t do any rehab assignment. So my guess is I’m probably going to be DH’ing a little bit more. We’ll see when they decide to let me play in the outfield.”
In his last 35 games played since June 11th, Juan Soto is slashing .301/.463/.566 with eight HRs, 23 RBI and a 1.029 OPS – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
Green, claiming Soto is “right up there as one of the absolute best hitters on the planet,” along with Yordan Álvarez who homered Saturday in the eighth inning for his 37th HR of the year, added:
“He’s worked incredibly hard over the past couple of weeks. He’s done a lot of it behind the scenes without people seeing it. He’s done it when we’re on the road. He’s pushed himself in a way that frankly you don’t see a lot of veterans push themselves when your team is in this type of situation that we’re in. So I think that speaks volumes to his desire to be on the field, his desire to play.”
Triple Crown Watch is on for Yordan Álvarez as the Cuban All-Star, winning the AL LatinoMVP Award in 2022, is hitting .320 this season (1st in AL) with 37 home runs (1st in AL) and 93 RBI (1st in AL) – Image Credit: Maz Adams/Latino Sports
Of Álvarez, Soto and more on the ‘absolute best hitters on the planet’ thoughts, Green said:
“You’re getting the privilege to see two of them on the same field right now. It’s really special.”
Follow us on Social Media for updates and exclusive content
Instagram: @latinosportsoficial
Twitter: @latinosports
TikTok: @latino.sports
Facebook: Latino Sports
