Mets’ Juan Soto lands on the injured list with left calf strain

NEW YORK — The short list of reasons to keep watching New York Mets games further shrunk Saturday when the struggling club placed star left fielder Juan Soto on the 10-day injured list because of a left calf strain.

Soto, who leads the National League in OPS (.947) and has hit 21 home runs, previously missed two and a half weeks in April because of a right calf strain.

The new calf injury — labeled a Grade 2 strain — is expected to force him out of action for a longer period of time.

“It’s not what we were hoping for,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said.

Green wouldn’t provide an estimate on how many weeks Soto was expected to miss, but guessed the amount of time could fall somewhere between Soto’s last injury and how long Francisco Lindor was sidelined with a calf issue. Lindor was out for approximately eight weeks. There are just two months remaining in the season.

A rash of lower-body injuries hit the Mets hard this year. In addition to Soto and Lindor’s ailments, Francisco Alvarez dealt with a torn meniscus and Jorge Polanco battled an Achilles issue.

“It’s a frustrating set of circumstances,” Green said. “Definitely something we’ll reflect on and see if there’s anything that jumps out. At this present moment, it feels unlucky to a degree and it hasn’t been the same mechanism for each player.”

Soto’s absence opens up more time at designated hitter for Polanco, who hasn’t found his rhythm at the plate after spending most of his time on the injured list. The Mets’ goal is for Polanco to eventually see some action at first base, where Jared Young typically plays.

Without Soto in the outfield, the Mets can continue to showcase Luis Robert Jr. as a trade candidate while keeping rookie standouts A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge at corner spots. The Mets hold a club option on Robert for next season worth $20 million. Ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline, some teams have expressed some interest in acquiring him.

The Mets (43-61) are in sell mode. By the time Soto is ready to rejoin them, it will be worth wondering if it is even worthwhile for him to do so. Soto, 27, is in the second year of a 15-year deal worth $765 million.

“We are all cognizant of his long-term importance to us,” Green said. “And we will factor that in appropriately. It’s also good for healthy baseball players to get on the field and play baseball. So we’ll balance that when the time comes.”