De Aza may be Reyes casualty
ATLANTA — Alejandro De Aza’s days with the Mets appear numbered.
The veteran outfielder isn’t hitting, and on Saturday, he received an earful from manager Terry Collins after his lack of hustle helped kill an inning.
With Wilmer Flores on first base in the 10th inning, De Aza popped up a bunt and slammed his bat in disgust — never bothering to run — as pitcher Jim Johnson settled under the pop up. Johnson alertly let the ball drop, starting a double play in which De Aza made a late effort to reach first base.
“Very surprising,” Collins said after the Mets beat the Braves 1-0 in 11 innings. “I’ve seen [De Aza] play, and the one thing he is known for is how hard he plays. But it goes to show you — everybody gets frustrated when they don’t do the job.”
De Aza was annoyed reporters approached him postgame for a comment on the play. He ultimately took responsibility for not executing the bunt but offered no mea culpa for his lack of hustle.
“I threw the bat. I thought [Johnson] caught the ball,” De Aza said. “When I looked up, he just let the ball drop and got the double play.”
De Aza finished 0-for-4 at the plate and saw his average drop to .169. Though he signed a oneyear deal worth $5.75 million last offseason, De Aza could be the roster casualty when Jose Reyes is deemed ready to join the major league roster.
Travis d’Arnaud played it coy when he was asked if he would surrender his No. 7 to Reyes. But earlier in the week, d’Arnaud indicated he has worn “20 different numbers” since he began playing baseball and it shouldn’t be an issue.
Reyes wore No. 7 during his first Mets tenure, and former bench coach Bob Geren took it following the shortstop’s departure. D’Arnaud and Geren then switched numbers before last season. D’Arnaud previously wore No. 15.
Yoenis Cespedes was in the starting lineup and finished 2for-4 after twisting his left ankle Friday night when he stepped awkwardly on first base when he was picked off. Cespedes remained in the game, but there was concern about swelling. It’s not the first time Cespedes has dealt with negotiating a base on a pickoff move.