NEW YORK — Juan Soto is no closer to returning to action for the Mets, but he’s no further either. The slugger took batting practice outside Wednesday afternoon, facing minor league pitching at Citi Field ahead of the Mets’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Soto has been doing only light activities since going on the injured list with a left calf strain a month ago, which includes playing ...

Juan Soto of the New York Mets looks on during batting practice before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on July 20, 2026, in Milwaukee.

John Fisher/Getty Images North America/TNS

NEW YORK — Juan Soto is no closer to returning to action for the Mets, but he’s no further either. The slugger took batting practice outside Wednesday afternoon, facing minor league pitching at Citi Field ahead of the Mets’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Soto has been doing only light activities since going on the injured list with a left calf strain a month ago, which includes playing catch and light running around the bases.

Facing live pitching is the biggest step he’s made so far.

“He’s in the middle of that progression right now, so not finished with that progression,” said interim manager Andy Green. “So we’ll see how he feels after today, and kind of get a determination where we go from there. He hit some balls hard, unsurprisingly so.”

Soto made hard contact, though he did not run out of the box. The Mets need his calf to be fully healed before he can start rehabbing with more intensity, and he shouldn’t feel anything in his calf while swinging a bat, running the bases, or making lateral movements in the outfield.

“It’s not so much like what happens with the at-bats in the given day; it’s just that he feels good with the workload. He can’t really answer that until the next day,” Green said. “It’s not a setback if he needs another day, and that’s one of the reasons we tend to be relatively cryptic with timelines because we just don’t know how long things take sometimes.”

The Mets continue to say Soto will return before the end of the season, but there is always a chance he runs out of time. The club could also opt to have him rehab the rest of the way, though Soto typically wants to play every day and doesn’t like sitting out if he doesn’t have to.

The Mets have not yet had a situation with him arise where the playoffs are out of reach. Last season, they were in the wild-card race until the final day of the regular season.

At the very least, a return to play would give Soto a normal offseason.

“It’d be great for everybody,” Green said. “We’re playing to win baseball games. Fans are showing up in a pretty impressive way, given where we are in this context of the season right now. I’m grateful for that, and I think he wants to be a part of winning baseball. Having him in the lineup makes everybody quite happy.”

Mark Vientos continues his rehab this week with Triple-A Syracuse, but the Mets aren’t ready to bring him back to the big leagues just yet. The third baseman/first baseman has now had two down seasons since his breakout, 27-homer campaign in 2024, and it’s not clear where he fits on the team anymore.

Nearly 27, Vientos is no longer a prospect. He has to produce and find a consistent role, or he could be squeezed out of the equation moving forward.

“I was very forthright with him when he started the rehab assignment that a lot of that will be dictated by how others perform, and also by how he performs,” Green said. “Still think there’s a very bright future out there for him. If he wants to go grab hold of it, that’s on him. When he gets back in the box, take advantage of the at-bats you do get, and prove you deserve more at-bats.”

Brewers 8, Mets 1

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched a winning record Wednesday with an 8-1 win over the Mets, hitting right-hander Robert Stock early.

Stock gave up four earned runs in the top of the second, getting hit for seven over four innings. The Brewers (82-51) patiently took single after single off Stock (0-3). Of the 10 hits he allowed, nine were singles, and one was a three-run homer to Brice Turang.

The game was firmly in Milwaukee’s grasp after only 3 1/2 innings, and while the Mets’ bullpen did a great job of putting up zeroes, the Brewers’ ‘pen did as well.

They were without right-hander Dustin May from the start. A.J. Ewing swung at the first pitch he threw in the bottom of the first, lining a comebacker off his pitching arm. The ball was registered as 106 mph off the bat, and Ewing was out on the ground-ball play, but so too was May, unable to pitch again.

Left-hander Robert Gasser (4-5) came in to throw 5 1/3 innings, holding the Mets (60-73) to just one earned run on six hits, walking two and striking out six.