Toe no! Juan hits a wall
Juan Lagares injured the big toe on his left foot in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 12-1 loss to Toronto when he hit his foot on the wall making a catch. X-rays after the game were negative. However, earlier this season X-rays were negative on Kevin Plawecki’s hand before an MRI showed it was broken. The Mets didn’t say whether Lagares would undergo an MRI.
“I was afraid that something’s broken,” Lagares said.
With Yoenis Cespedes hitting the DL with a strained right hip, another injury would further deplete the Mets’ outfield depth. It could also cost Lagares a chance at more at-bats.
“First of all, I have to see how my toe is,” Lagares said. “I just want to be ready for the opportunity.”
The Mets’ offense has been mostly scuffling in recent weeks, and not having Lagares in addition to Cespedes would make matters worse. Brandon Nimmo sees a turnaround on the horizon.
“I just don’t foresee this staying this way. We have way too much talent,” Nimmo said. “You never know. We could pull off a streak (22 straight wins) like the Indians had last year.”
SPLIT ATTACK
After giving up six runs Wednesday, Zack Wheeler said he’s still working on his split-finger and got some advice from Adrian Gonzalez on how to improve it.
“Adrian actually pulled me aside and talked to me about how Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling and those type of guys that threw the splits attacked guys and threw it a lot more than I would think,” Wheeler said. “We actually watched some video of it. I thanked him a lot and I definitely want to try to put that in my game plan the next few starts and see how that goes.”
READY OR NOT
Todd Frazier is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday, but the third baseman said he is not sure he will be back for the series opener against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Team sources said it was unlikely the veteran third baseman would be activated for Friday’s game. “I am doing everything,” Frazier said. “I am not sure it will be exactly when I am eligible to come off, I don’t know if it will be Friday.”
THROUGH THE RAINDROPS
Nimmo homered in the ninth inning and every step around the infield was a muddy splash into a puddle.
“They just masked (the water),” Nimmo said. “It looked dry but it was just puddles of water on every step and when I ran in from the outfield, it was like water splashing back up at you.”
The Mets grounds crew did the best it could with bags and bags of drying agent to keep the field playable.