A comfortable 7-1 victory for the New York Mets came with an uncomfortable question surrounding their biggest offseason investment. Juan Soto had already reached base three times and appeared locked in at the plate before a sinker caught him on the right hand. He tried to shake it off but was unable to continue. The late-season injury added another concern to his earlier IL stints, while the initial tests offered some relief.
“Ouch. It hurt his hand… Right on the back of that wrist,” the broadcasting booth could be heard, per the SNY X post.
The Mets entered the 9th inning with a 5-1 lead, and Ronny Mauricio’s 2-run homer extended the lead further. Soto appeared in the batter’s box after Richard Lovelady recorded the first out of the inning. The reliever threw a wild 91-mph sinker on a 1-2 count way outside the zone. Soto tried to move away, but it hit him on the wrist anyway. The 27-year-old turned around and started walking while shaking his hand.
The hit-by-pitch was supposed to send him to first base. He even went for the bag but couldn’t stay still due to the pain. Manager Andy Green and the athletic trainer were out there with him while the broadcast noted how Lovelady rushed several pitches while A. J. Ewing was at the plate earlier in the inning.
Soto’s pain eventually forced him out of the game, and he went for an X-ray.
“He got squared up on his hand pretty good,” Green said after the game. Although the manager reported that the X-ray came back negative, Soto has a contusion in his right hand.
The reporters even asked him if Soto would be in the lineup for the final game of the season. “It takes a minute to know the answer to that one. I don’t know,” the manager replied.
New York is already eliminated. So Juan Soto’s absence wouldn’t be a huge roadblock for the team. But the contusion is not good news for the player, as it was his third physical setback of the season.
Earlier in April, he suffered a right calf strain and missed around two weeks before rejoining the roster later in that month. Shortly after the All-Star break, Soto was diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain on his left calf. This time, he missed 31 games. He returned on August 29 but was limited to DH duties only.
He admitted that he felt confident about his recovery and wanted to reclaim his spot in left field.
“I feel pretty comfortable with my calf and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, we got to remember I came a little bit [quicker] than they expected, and I didn’t do any rehab assignments,” Soto said after his return in August.
He eventually reclaimed his spot in the outfield, but the recent setback might prevent him from having a good end to the season. While the Mets wait for more updates, fans have a different perspective on Saturday’s incident.
A former Met offers fans another reason to target him
Richard Lovelady played with New York in 2025. He had 8 outings with the team after the Mets claimed him from the Toronto Blue Jays. The 31-year-old made 6 more appearances this season before the Mets DFA’d him. Although there was significant improvement in his performance compared to his outings with the Blue Jays, New York didn’t capitalize on it.
The Washington Nationals acquired him from the Mets in April. And one fan commented on the SNY clip, “Lovelady is like a recurring villain for the Mets.”
True, the reliever had a few balls outside the zone and toward the body for Ewing before hitting Juan Soto on the wrist. But he isn’t infamous for HBPs, nor does he have a rivalry against New York in the traditional sense.
But Lovelady has had two outings against the Mets this year. In both cases, it didn’t turn out to be a good experience for the Mets fans.
Back in April, just after the Nats roped him in, the reliever pitched 0.2 innings in an away game. Although he didn’t strike anyone out, he allowed just one hit to hold the lead, and Washington won the game 5-4.
The lefty had another encounter against his former team during a home game in May. He allowed 0 hits and recorded a strikeout over 1.0 inning to help the Nats secure a 9-6 win. Although his latest outing was not as praiseworthy and he allowed a two-run homer, some fans are still sour about his earlier performances.
While that’s just one perspective, the main concern is Soto’s setback and his recovery. Even though he can have the entire offseason to get healthy, none of the fans are happy with yet another physical issue he suffered.