Soto's night ends in first inning due to calf cramp

When Juan Soto battled his way through an 11-pitch at-bat with young Marlins flamethrower Sixto Sánchez in the top of the first tonight in Jupiter, Fla., and ultimately trotted to first base having drawn a well-earned walk, it felt like the most encouraging thing the slumping Nationals slugger had done in days.

But when the inning ended a few minutes later and his teammates took their positions for the bottom of the first, Soto did not join them. He would later be seen walking back to the visiting clubhouse at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, his night complete after that one plate appearance and no appearance in right field as intended.

The Nationals did not provide any concrete explanation for the quick departure in-game, and when reporters asked to interview Soto, a club official said he had already left the ballpark.

Following the game, a 7-3 loss, manager Davey Martinez revealed Soto's right calf had cramped at the end of the at-bat, and it was still bothering him when the inning ended.

"So we took him out of the game," Martinez said in his Zoom session with reporters. "I didn't want to take any chances."

It appears to have been done out of extreme caution. Soto hadn't been dealing with any calf issues previously, and one source who had spoken to the 22-year-old stressed he isn't concerned at all. But with only four days left in camp and one week to go until the season opener, there's not much time for players to deal with any kind of physical ailment, big or small.

"We'll re-evaluate tomorrow," Martinez said. "He said he felt fine, but I want to make sure that he gets treatment when we see him tomorrow."

The Nationals are scheduled to play the Mets on Friday night, then have a B game only Saturday before the final two games of Grapefruit League play Sunday and Monday. If Soto is unable to appear in a game right away, there could yet be opportunities to keep him sharp without putting his calf at risk.

"We've still got some days left," Martinez said. "We can do some different things to keep them ready, as far as the swing and things of that nature. But we want to make sure this doesn't become a bigger issue."

All of this came on a night that began in promising fashion for Soto. He entered the game hitless in his last 10 at-bats and sporting a .182 average and zero extra-base hits or RBIs this spring. But his 11-pitch walk vs. the electric Sánchez was a particularly encouraging sign.

"That was a good one," Martinez said. "The guy's throwing 100. He's got a 93 mph slider, 90 mph changeup. I thought it was a really good at-bat. He was in a good position to hit every swing."

Turns out that was the only appearance Soto would make in the game. Gerardo Parra took his place in right field and his No. 2 spot in the lineup as everyone else wondered what prompted such an unusually early exit.