Especially with this stretch that we’re in right now.”While Soto might be the focal point of the offense, there are eight other guys in the lineup. None of them can produce offensively right now. A dire lack of offense has completely hamstrung the Mets over the last two weeks, forcing them to shake up the lineup almost daily and placing enormous pressure on the pitching staff.

Soto offered very little in terms of any analysis or observations of what he’s seen from the team in his 15-game absence.“We haven’t won any games,” he said.No kidding.Soto said he has not been in touch with the team much since he strained his calf in San Francisco on April 3. The Mets went on to win after he left the game against the Giants in the first inning, and then won their next three without him. They haven’t won since.“They’ve been on the road most of the time, so I haven’t talked to them,” Soto said.That’s not entirely accurate.

While Soto skipped the last road trip through Los Angeles and Chicago to stay in New York and rehab his calf, he remained with the team in San Francisco and was with the team when the losing streak started. The Mets had a seven-game homestand after the Giants series, which Soto was present for, and he was in the dugout with the team Tuesday night when they lost to the Minnesota Twins at home.The Mets don’t appear to be playing any cohesive baseball right now. They look like 26 acquaintances on the field playing without any element of fun or even familiarity.

The team has denied any chemistry issues and said they bonded plenty during spring training, but it’s obvious there is a disconnect. Maybe even several disconnects.Whatever the case may be, winning can cure teams of a lot of issues. Adding Soto’s bat back into the lineup gives the Mets a better chance to end this dismal stretch of play and start winning again.“One of the best players in the game,” Mendoza said.

“When I was making out a lineup last night, just to be able to put his name in there, he just gives you a different look. But again, it’s going to take all of us to get out of this. It’s not just Juan Soto.”Soto was hitting .355 with a .928 OPS at the time of his injury, with one home run, five RBI and three walks.

The No. 2 hitter, he hit behind Bo Bichette instead of Francisco Lindor on Wednesday with the Mets shuffling the lineup to try to bring life to a moribund offense. Soto was used as a DH, with the plan for him to play left field Thursday against the Twins. The training staff will then reassess with him heading into the weekend series against the Colorado Rockies.While he says his calf is 100% healthy, the Mets don’t sound quite as sure.

The club is being cautious with its $765 million outfielder. Instead of rehabbing in minor league games, the Mets brought minor league pitchers over from Brooklyn to throw to him. Without testing his calf in rehab games, the Mets feel they need to be extra careful.“We need to be flexible and we have to stay on top of things with him,” Mendoza said.

“If we see that there’s couple of games, 2-3 games where there’s a lot of running, [where he’s getting] on base, going first to third, first to home, second to home, or in the outfield, then we will have to adjust.“Hopefully, that’s the case that he’s on base, and we’re scoring a lot of runs.”In 2019, Soto was on a Washington Nationals team that went from 12 games below .500 to 24 games above .500. The Nats never spent a day in first place in the NL East, yet still made the postseason as a Wild Card team, eventually defeating the Houston Astros to win the franchise’s first World Series. Soto was only 19 for most of the season, turning 20 just five days before the clinching game.

He says he learned a lot from a group of veteran players that year.“Things [were] things that we can do here,” Soto said. “Things I can bring to the table and see if the guys like it.”As for what those things are, Soto isn’t saying.“Those are my secret things,” he said.Soto may only be a band-aid for the Mets. The issues appear to run deeper.