Juan Soto isnt giving up on lost Mets season in telling injury update

The Mets will be stripped down at the trade deadline, leaving a lesser version of the roster on pace for the franchise’s first last-place finish in 23 years.By September, they will be months removed from meaningful baseball, playing out the string in one of the most disappointing seasons in team history.But Juan Soto is refusing to throw in the towel on his second season in Queens, declaring Monday that he “100 percent” plans to play again this year after landing on the injured list with his second calf strain since April.

Don’t miss Mike Puma’s text messages from Queens and beyond — he’s giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Mets.“I feel I’m young enough to recover quickly,” the 27-year-old superstar said before Monday’s game against the Braves.

“We don’t know how I’m gonna feel tomorrow, the next day, so we’re just taking it day by day right now … I’m hurt right now, but I’m hoping to be back soon and help as much as I can.“It’s tough.It’s been a tough season, a lot of ups and downs.

It’s been a lot of frustration.It’s tough in this situation at this moment.

We never expected to be in this kind of spot now.”Soto most recently appeared in Friday’s loss to the Dodgers, when he aggravated the injury while running the bases.An MRI exam revealed that the outfielder suffered a Grade 2 strain, which is more significant than the injury he suffered in the spring and kept him out for nearly three weeks.Soto felt discomfort in his calf the week before suffering his most recent injury, resulting in him missing one game against Milwaukee and serving as a DH in his two most recent appearances, but the owner of the largest contract in MLB history had no regrets about playing through the pain.“I don’t,” Soto said.

“I’m trying to go out there and help my team to win ballgames.Whatever it takes.

Sometimes it’s tough.We were hoping it would go the other way, and I [would get] better and healthier and...