San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
METS’ ADAMS: CARDIAC TESTS ‘SCARIEST WEEK’ OF LIFE
Matt Adams returned to the Mets clubhouse in Port St. Lucie, Fla., after he spent more than a week away from camp — including a trip to New York — undergoing cardiac screening.
The veteran slugger has been cleared to resume baseball activities and is grateful the tests are behind him. This was the first time Adams experienced cardiac-related issues and he called the process frustrating.
“It was probably the scariest week of my life,” Adams said. “It’s nice to be able to know that I got a clean bill of health.”
Adams chose to keep the alarming details of this past week to himself, saying “that’s a personal matter” and he just wants to move on.
“It’s frustrating that I missed a week and I felt good coming into camp,” Adams said. “I got that out of my head, knowing that there’s nothing wrong. So I’ll get back out there and do my thing.”
The first baseman will continue fighting for a spot on the Mets bench to begin the 2020 campaign. Adams indicated he’s not worried about the time he missed impacting his chances of making the opening-day roster. He signed a minor league contract with the Mets at the end of January.
Adams was sent for the cardiac screening immediately after Brandon Nimmo returned from a similar process — though Nimmo did not have to fly to New York for additional tests. Nimmo was aware of his irregular heartbeat since being pulled aside from games for cardiac screening in 2016. Adams’ official diagnosis after being sent off for tests is still unclear.
“Just go out there and focus, take it day by day,” Adams said of his plans to make the roster. “If I get too far ahead of myself, I’m not going to be where I want. Have to hit the ground running.
I’ve been having really good days since I’ve been back and I’m cleared to go. So I can only control what I can control and leave everything else up to the people that make decisions.”
Mancini to have ‘procedure’
Baltimore outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini has left the Orioles to undergo what the team is calling “a non-baseball-related medical procedure.”
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Mancini “is going to miss some time” but didn’t say how much.
The 27-year-old Mancini, who hit .291 with 35 home runs and 97 RBIS in 2019, has played only five games this spring after earlier dealing with flu-like symptoms.
Mancini last played on March 2, but left the game after two at-bats.
“We love Trey, and we’re going to respect his privacy in this thing, and we’ll have more information as we know more,” Hyde said.
“I think, like anybody else would, that he’s going to go have further tests done. All I can say is we’re thinking about him. We’re just going to respect his privacy in this whole thing. We hate to see Trey miss time, but hopefully it’s not too long.”
Notable
Oscar Mercado’s left wrist is only sprained, and the Indians are crossing their fingers it will heal in time for the outfielder to be ready for opening day.
An MRI taken Friday confirmed the sprain, which happened when Mercado made a diving catch in an exhibition game the previous day in Scottsdale, Ariz. Indians manager Terry Francona said Mercado will take it easy the next few days and be re-evaluated before the team decides what’s next for the 25-year-old.
A stomach issue that prevented Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts from playing Friday is expected to keep him out of spring training games until at least Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said.