Juan Soto Injury Updates on Mets Star After Leaving Game vs. Tigers

The New York Mets avoided a serious Juan Soto injury scare.

Soto fouled a ball off his ankle in the third inning Wednesday night and received a visit from manager Carlos Mendoza and a trainer. While he remained in the game and completed that at-bat and his ensuing one in the sixth inning, he eventually exited in the seventh inning.

Soto, whose X-rays were negative, is in the lineup on Thursday:

Injuries have been a massive problem for the Mets this season, as Soto, Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco are among those who have missed time.

It reached a point that president of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday the team will evaluate how it takes injury risk into consideration when making acquisitions.

"I think we absolutely have to look at our risk assessment on injured players or players who get injured once they're here," Stearns said, per ESPN's Jorge Castillo. "Certainly, we know we're taking a level of risk when we bring players in with injury histories. We're feeling that risk right now and it hasn't helped that a number of our players have gotten hurt at the exact same time."

Soto missed more than two weeks with a calf strain earlier in the season and is dealing with another setback after fouling the ball into his ankle Wednesday.

When healthy, he is one of the best offensive players in baseball with a resume that includes a World Series title, six Silver Sluggers, a batting title and four All-Star selections. His presence in the lineup was a major reason expectations were so high for the Mets coming into the campaign.

He entered Wednesday's contest slashing .271/.366/.458 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 26 games.

It's safe to say New York has not lived up to those elevated expectations with injuries continuing to hover over the team. It is in last place in the National League East at 17-25 and staring at a 12.5-game deficit to the first-place Atlanta Braves.