Mets' Vargas could miss 6 weeks with injured hand

Jason Vargas wants to make his regular-season debut with the New York Mets as soon as possible — even if takes more than a month past opening day. The lefty could miss up to six weeks after he has surgery Tuesday for a broken right hand, an injury incurred last week when he was hit by a line drive during a minor league game. Vargas met with a hand specialist over the weekend to talk about the test results. He then opted to have the operation. “I don’t know if I was surprised,” Vargas said. “It kind of reinforced what some of the CT scans and how they were read the first time. Getting the word from the specialist is kind of the defining fact on what needed to be done. This is the fastest way to get better.” Vargas threw a bullpen session Monday morning, but it wasn’t without difficulty. The 2017 All-Star had to loosen the laces on his glove to get his right hand inside the mitt, then tightened the laces to keep his pitching balance the same. And he didn’t take a return throw from his catcher. “It’s all going to depend on how things go post-op, but the word is I should get back to throwing in about five days after surgery. It’s definitely a positive that I won’t have to be shut down and have to rebuild a throwing program,” Vargas said. The 35-year-old Vargas tied for the major league lead with 18 wins last season for Kansas City. He joined the Mets last month, signing a two-year contract for $16 million with an option for a third year. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said at the time he had his eye on Vargas from the start of free agency, saying he liked the durability the pitcher displayed by working nearly 180 innings in 32 starts last year in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery in 2015.