Mets waive veteran first baseman Gonzalez

Looking to spark their stagnant lineup, the New York Mets are making a change at first base.

Slumping veteran Adrian Gonzalez was released following a 2-0 victory over the Yankees on Sunday night, and the Mets will recall Dominic Smith from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday when they begin a 10-game road trip in Atlanta.

The 36-year-old Gonzalez, who struck out in all three at-bats Sunday, hit .237 with six home runs and 26 RBIs for the Mets. The five-time All-Star was signed for the major league minimum during the offseason after struggling with a bad back last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Mets also announced they plan to call up utilityman Ty Kelly from Triple-A on Tuesday. Reserve catcher Jose Lobaton will be designated for assignment.

Smith, who turns 23 this week, was batting .260 with two homers and 25 RBIs at Las Vegas. Drafted 11th overall out of high school in 2013, the touted prospect scuffled in the majors as a rookie last season, hitting .198 with nine homers, 26 RBIs and a .658 OPS in 49 games.

The switch-hitting second baseman stumbled awkwardly out of the batter’s box and grabbed the back of his left leg when he bounced back to the mound to begin the bottom of the first inning.

Cabrera, who leads the team with 11 homers and 36 RBIs, jogged slowly to first after a third-inning groundout

and was replaced at second base in the top of the fourth by Jose Reyes.

Cespedes is headed to the team’s complex in Florida to try again to get healthy. The Mets had hoped the left fielder would be back Tuesday night in Atlanta, but now there is no timetable for his return.

“Same stuff he’s been battling. It’s not a total setback to Day One, but still not feeling the way he would like it to feel to come up here and contribute,” Callaway said.

Callaway said Cespedes’ first hit Saturday was a standup double, but on the second one the slugger had to run a little harder to make sure he made it to second and that’s when he felt discomfort again.

“He feels like he’s not quite ready, so we’re going to send him to Florida to kind of start that day-to-day process of getting him where he needs to be,” Callaway said.

Slumping badly at the plate, the plummeting Mets had lost eight straight games

and 15 of 18 going into their Subway Series finale against the Yankees. They’re desperate to get Cespedes back in the middle of a foundering lineup.

“We were excited about the prospect of getting him back in a few days, but like we said before, we can’t let these injuries stop us from doing what we need to do,” Callaway said. “We have other major league players that can step up and get the job done, and that’s what we need to do.”