Mark Vientos is on the mend.
The Mets third baseman who strained his proper hamstring final Monday in Los Angeles is forward of schedule in his restoration and has began baseball actions. Initially, Vientos was anticipated to be down 10-14 days with a low-grade pressure, however after solely every week, the irritation is gone, permitting him to run, hit and take floor balls.
“He’s already hitting in the cages, light jogging, and he’s going to take some ground balls right at him,” supervisor Carlos Mendoza mentioned Tuesday at Citi Area. “Wo we’ll start building him back up with some baseball activities and progress him.”
Vientos was positioned on the 10-day injured record June 3, however possible gained’t come off of it later this week when he’s eligible. The Mets wish to ship Vientos out on a rehab project earlier than activating him. The choice isn’t ultimate but, however the Mets would most likely need to see him get again to sport pace.
The Mets are persevering with to maneuver their infielders round within the absence of Vientos, with Ronny Mauricio getting the beginning at third base Tuesday within the first sport of a three-game sequence in opposition to the Washington Nationals. This left Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña on the bench, however with Jeff McNeil driving a 12-game on-base streak and the Mets going through three right-handers this week, Mendoza opted to maintain McNeil’s bat within the lineup.
The previous batting champ is hitting .302 with six runs, 4 doubles, 4 residence runs, seven RBI, 4 walks and a stolen base over that 12-game span, and hit two residence runs at Coors Area on Sunday. The Mets hit him eighth, proper forward of Mauricio, and used him at second base, and Mauricio at third.
McNeil additionally has a profession common of .700 in opposition to Tuesday’s Nats starter, MacKenzie Gore.
“It’s hard to take him out of the lineup,” Mendoza mentioned of McNeil. “That’s the balance that we’re dealing with here. It’s a good problem to have. Wth Mauricio, he’s part of that rotation too and he just continues to provide versatility. McNeil — that’s the good thing here, that I could move him. I could go a lot of different ways when I make another lineup.”
Mauricio went 0-for-8 in his first two video games, then 5-for-11 with a double, a house run, two walks and two stolen bases over his final three video games.
The Mets could have one other troublesome resolution to make when Vientos returns, however a rehab project will give Mauricio and Acuña some runway for the subsequent week or two.
ROSTER MOVES
Catcher Francisco Alvarez was positioned on the paternity record Tuesday afternoon, and catcher Hayden Senger was promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to take his place on the roster. Senger was with the Mets in Denver over the weekend for a sequence in opposition to the Rockies, however was not lively. Alvarez and his associate predict their first little one, a woman.
The Mets signed outfielder Travis Jankowski to a minor league contract. A veteran outfielder who spent 43 video games with the Mets in 2022, Jankowski was waived by the Tampa Bay Rays earlier within the month and elected free company as a substitute of a minor league project, which is his proper as a participant with greater than three years of service. He’s anticipated to report back to Triple-A Syracuse.
