AMAZIN’ MESS
NEW YORK >> Turns out Yoenis Céspedes took the fall, not Mickey Callaway.
On a hectic afternoon at Citi Field, the slumping Mets announced Monday they are sticking with their embattled manager “for the foreseeable future” — and Céspedes broke his right ankle in an accident on his ranch.
The oft-injured slugger has been sidelined most of the past two seasons and was home recovering from surgery on both heels. New York had hoped he could return sometime after the All-Star break, but this latest setback certainly puts Céspedes’ entire season — and perhaps his career — in jeopardy.
General manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the team was informed Saturday night that Céspedes got hurt on his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the club’s spring training complex is located.
“He had a violent fall in which he stepped in a hole and put his leg and foot in a difficult position,” said Van Wagenen, who was Céspedes agent before becoming GM of the Mets last offseason.
The 33-year-old Céspedes enjoys riding horses. He told the team he did not fall off a horse, but Van Wagenen — declining to offer more specifics — said the injury was not from a baseball-related activity.
That could impact how much money the Mets can recoup in insurance on Céspedes’ contract or whether he was involved in an activity prohibited by the deal’s guarantee language. The two-time All-Star, who helped lead the team to the 2015 World Series and a 2016 playoff appearance, has played only 119 games since signing a $110 million, four-year deal before the 2017 season.
Van Wagenen, who was with the Mets in Miami last weekend, said he left the club to go see Céspedes on Sunday and make sure he receives the best medical care. The outfielder was in New York being examined at the Hospital for Special Surgery, and Van Wagenen said it was too soon to speculate how long his latest injury might keep him out.
Céspedes had separate operations to remove calcification and bone spurs from both heels, the first last August and the second in late October.
In other news, second baseman Robinson Canó was out of the lineup — for multiple reasons, according to Callaway — after failing to run out two balls last weekend.
Callaway said Canó was on the bench against Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin because Canó has struggled against lefties, “he understands that it’s unacceptable to not run balls out” and the 36-yearold slugger could use a day off.
Right-hander Seth Lugo, one of New York’s most valuable and reliable relievers, was placed on the 10day injured list with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder. The team selected the contract of left-hander Hector Santiago from Triple-A Syracuse and transferred infielder Jed Lowrie to the 60-day injured list.
Van Wagenen said the move won’t affect the timetable for Lowrie, yet to make his Mets debut after signing a $20 million, twoyear contract in the offseason. He sprained his left knee capsule early in spring training and then hurt a hamstring this month while on his rehab assignment, the Mets said.