Juan Soto Calf Injury Could Alter Entire NL Landscape

National League East Impact

The National League East is tight right now. The Miami Marlins are in first place in the division at 6-3. The Atlanta Braves and Mets are tied for second place at 6-4. The Philadelphia Phillies are just behind at 5-4. The Washington Nationals are in last place in the division right now at 3-6.

Calf injuries are difficult to predict. That's the case with any soft tissue injury, but arguably especially the calf. Because of that, you cannot rush back. Soro is expected to miss 2-to-3 weeks with the injury. If he does only miss two or three weeks, that won't be catastrophic. Soto is a superstar. He is slashing .355/.412/.516 with one homer, five RBIs, two doubles and three runs scored in eight games. He's a top-five player in the game, so losing him obviously hurts the Mets in the standings. There's enough talent to stay afloat, but there isn't a one-to-one replacement for Soto. If Soto ends up missing more than the two or three weeks, New York will be in trouble and that will help the Phillies, Marlins, and Braves.

National League Impact Overall

The Mets are contenders in the National League on paper. Losing Soto hurts. You never want to dig yourself too big of a hole early on in the season. Losing Soto could certainly do that if he ends up missing more than two or three weeks. It's too early to be thinking about awards later on in the season, but if Soto ends up missing more than the two or three weeks, it'll make it a little more difficuly for him to compete with the likes of Shohei Ohtani for the National League Most Valuable Player Award later on in the season. That's a bit of an aggressive take, but it is real.

Calf injuries are tough. If he isn't able to recover quickly, that's going to significantly hurt the Mets and potentially open the door for another team to move up in the standings. Two or three weeks without Soto wouldn't ruin the Mets. If this turns into an extended absence, it could.