Soto Scratched With Fever as Mets Clubhouse Illness Spreads

Juan Soto did not take the field Sunday against Miami. Manager Carlos Mendoza scratched the Mets' star slugger from the lineup shortly before first pitch, citing a fever and body aches consistent with the flu-like bug circulating through the clubhouse over the past week. Soto arrived at loanDepot Park symptomatic and sleep-deprived—enough for Mendoza to keep him out of the DH spot and the three-hole where he was originally slated to bat. MJ Melendez took over as the DH; A.J. Ewing moved up to center field and the third slot in the order.

The timing is brutal. Over his last seven games, Soto has hit .333 with four homers and seven RBIs, including a two-run Friday night that provided the Mets' only run in a 2-1 loss to the Marlins. He was, in short, the one bat generating consistent damage in an offense that managed just two runs across the first two games of the series. The Mets enter Sunday having lost four of their last five and are 0-2 in Miami this weekend, outscored 4-2 by a Marlins team that has won eight of ten matchups against New York dating to April 2025.

From a lineup construction standpoint, losing Soto removes both power and sequencing advantage. Melendez and Ewing are not comparable run producers, and the Mets' ability to string together hits against a Marlins pitching staff has already proven limited. Mendoza's decision to scratch him was the right one—a fever signals systemic infection, not a grind-through situation—but it leaves New York's offense thinner at the worst possible moment, trailing in a series they needed to win.

The betting floor reads this as volatility. Mets team totals and run-line spreads likely tightened once Soto's absence became public, but the market may be overcorrecting on the assumption that Soto's bat was the only variable in an already struggling offensive game plan. The Mets still have lineup depth; Vientos, Baty, and Semien are not minor-league fill-ins. However, Soto's absence removes the one hitter capable of creating runs through individual at-bats rather than relying on situational hits. Unders become more attractive in a series where Miami's pitching has already forced the Mets into low-run games, and the absence of Soto's power—especially against a Marlins staff vulnerable in the middle innings—shifts the edge. Short-term, lean unders on Mets team total and the overall game total; the illness will likely sideline Soto for at least the next 24-48 hours, and Miami will not need to adjust its game plan against a depleted lineup.