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Try it freePORT ST. LUCIE — The sound of the ball coming off Juan Soto’s bat was as pure as it gets.
The $765 million Mets superstar crushed his second home run this spring during the Grapefruit League game against the Nationals on Friday.
This one, a two-run blast to left field off lefty Shinnosuke Ogasawara, had an exit velocity of 106.1 mph.
Soto previously homered in his first spring training at-bat with the Mets during their 6-2 win over the Astros on Feb. 22. That one, a solo shot to center field, came off lefty Colton Gordon and had an exit velocity of 106.2 mph.
So both homers have come off lefties with exit velocities just 0.1 mph apart, and he didn’t pull either of them.
Juan Soto crushes his second #Mets homer of the spring: pic.twitter.com/X9z9AwrelS
— Jared Schwartz (@jschwartz115) February 28, 2025
Mets’ Juan Soto grounds out during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Miami Marlins Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. APHe flied out and struck out in his other two at-bats Friday, getting three at-bats in a game for the first time this spring.
Soto is 3-for-8 with a walk at the plate this spring with four RBIs and a 1.569 OPS. His other non-home run hit was a single against the Cardinals on Monday.
Extra tests confirmed the fracture in Nick Madrigal’s shoulder.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said Friday that Madrigal will probably need surgery and is likely to miss the entire season.
Madrigal suffered the injury after falling while throwing off balance during a split-squad game against the Nationals on Sunday.
The Mets signed him to a one-year split major league deal this offseason. He had been competing with Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña for a backup infield role.
Mets’ Nick Madrigal runs a drill at Spring Training, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Port St. Lucie, FL. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTBut he did not get even a single Grapefruit League at-bat before the injury.
Brandon Nimmo was in the lineup for the first time this spring Friday. He has been ramping up slowly while recovering from plantar fasciitis.
He walked and grounded out in his two plate appearances.
Nimmo’s inclusion provided Mendoza his first look at what is expected to be the full top five of the lineup in Francisco Lindor, Soto, Pete Alonso, Nimmo and Mark Vientos, in some order. It’s likely Vientos and Nimmo flip-flop throughout the spring as Mendoza experiments.
Backup catcher Luis Torrens has enjoyed a strong start to the spring, going 5-for-12 at the plate. He had two singles and drove in two runs Friday.
