Ces finally gets rest for creaky quad
CINCINNATI — Yoenis Cespedes rested his aching right quad Wednesday. Battling tightness since Sunday, Mickey Callaway gave the left fielder the day off to get him off his feet for two straight days.
Cespedes said Wednesday the leg was still sore, but he was hopeful that the time off would help.
The Mets are scheduled off Thursday before starting a series in Philadelphia.
“We’re just giving him a day. He’s been feeling it a little bit the last couple days,” the Mets manager said. “You can see it in left, it’s been hard for him to really run balls down and stuff. I figured, he’ll have two days in a row and then come back.”
Cespedes left Sunday’s game in the first inning after feeling the quad tighten up, but he was back in the lineup Monday night. He went 2-for-4 that night, but 0-for4 Tuesday.
With the Mets struggling to produce runs, it’s a fine line they have to walk with their $100-million slugger.
“It’s tough, really tough.He could hit a three-run homer, then on the flip side of that, we need the defense when we are pitching,” Callaway said. “When he’s 100 percent, his defense has been great, been really good the last couple of days where he’s been with everything, but he probably hadn’t been able to give 100 percent out there. When he’s running balls down, that might have hurt us a little bit.”
This is an injury that has cost Cespedes games in the past. In 2016 the Mets hemmed and hawed as they hoped Cespedes’ nagging right quad issue would go away without a stint on the disabled list. He initially injured it in early July, so they thought the AllStar break would be enough, but Cespedes eventually had to go on the DL in early August.
It flared up again last year when Cespedes was rehabbing the first of his two hamstring strains. In the first year of his four-year, $110 million deal with the Mets, Cespedes missed 81 games last season with leg injuries.
CATCHING UP
Kevin Plawecki was cleared to play catch using his glove and begin a swinging progression on Wednesday. The catcher, who suffered a hairline fracture of his left hand April 12.
“He’s playing catch every now and again. His grip strength almost doubled since the last time they tested it yesterday,” Callaway said. “So he’s in a good spot and improving.”
Plawecki said he would begin swinging a smaller, lighter bat on Wednesday and then hopefully progress to hitting off a tee by early next week.
Both of the Mets’ major-league catchers were on the disabled list, which partly motivated the Mets to trade Matt Harvey to the Reds for catcher Devin Mesoraco Tuesday night. Travis d’Arnaud is out for the season after having Tommy John surgery last month.
With Mesoraco making his first start as a Met against his old team on Wednesday, the Mets sent Tomas Nido to Triple-A. Jose Lobaton will share the duties with Mesoraco until Plawecki is ready to return.
JAY WALKING
Jay Bruce was returning to Texas Wednesday night to be with his wife as she delivers their second child. Bruce will go on paternity leave on Friday and miss the series in Philadelphia. Callaway said they would likely call up a position player to take his spot, but they had not decided yet. The Mets do not have another outfielder on the 40-man roster . ... Hansel Robles went back to New York to have an MRI on his right knee Wednesday. The Mets were waiting on results Wednesday evening . ... Infielder Luis Guillorme was called up from Triple-A to give the Mets some insurance with Todd Frazier going on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday.