Juan Soto to Be Re-Evaluated After Exiting Marlins vs. Nationals with Calf Injury
July 3, 2022
The Washington Nationals announced that outfielder Juan Soto departed his team's home game against the Miami Marlins on Sunday with left calf tightness and will be re-evaluated Monday, per MLB.com reporter Jessica Camerato.
According to Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com, Soto left to get an MRI and was not available postgame.
"He said he just felt tight," manager Dave Martinez said postgame after the Nats' 7-4 loss, per Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital.
"He went up there and hit and he said it was fine, and all of a sudden he ran and came back and said it was tightening up on him."
Lane Thomas replaced Soto in the top of the fifth inning after the Nats' star slugger walked twice in his first two plate appearances.
Soto, 23 is hitting .226 (.831 OPS) with 15 home runs and 33 RBI through 79 games. The five-year MLB veteran has finished top 10 in the National League MVP voting three times and earned Silver Slugger awards each of the past two years.
Soto also posted 34 home runs and 110 RBI for the 2019 World Series champions and earned his first-ever All-Star appearance two years later.
This year hasn't gone as well for Soto and the Nats, whose 29-52 record places them last in the National League East. They're in rebuilding mode after trading off numerous pieces of their 2019 title-winning team, including Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.
However, Soto figures to be a long-term building block. He did reveal to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post on Friday that his agent, Scott Boras, and the Nats are speaking about the possibility of a long-term extension.
"We’re going back and forth, and I feel good about that," Soto said. "They are talking to my agent, and I have nothing to do with it. He is just talking to them, and I want to play baseball."
It's unclear when Soto will return to the field this year after leaving Sunday's game. His next chance to do so would be Monday at 11:05 a.m. ET against the Miami Marlins before the Nats head to Philadelphia for a three-game series against the Phillies beginning Tuesday.