Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided several updates on his club ahead of Wednesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field.
Luis Robert Jr., Ronny Mauricio progressing
Outfielder Luis Robert Jr. was seen throwing the ball in the outfield at Citi Field.
Robert, who has been on the injured list since April 30 (retroactive to April 27) due to lumbar spine disc herniation, was transferred to the 60-day IL in late May.
Meanwhile, Ronny Mauricio has progressed to the baseball activities portion of his rehab, the manager said.
“He’s throwing, he’s hitting,” Mendoza said. “So he’s now at the phase where he’s doing a lot of the baseball stuff.”
Mauricio, who was seen doing some running in the outfield near Robert, landed on the IL with a right thumb fracture in early May and was expected to miss six to eight weeks.
Rotation pushback
Mendoza confirmed pushing back Nolan McLean to Friday and having Christian Scott on Thursday was just about getting the arms an extra day amid a long stretch without a day off.
“This was something that we discussed over the weekend,” the skipper said, adding it was always part of the plan. “[The pitchers] knew the plan, the Cardinals knew the plan that we were going bullpen game today, Scotty tomorrow, and then Nolan.
“Just kinda giving those guys an extra day this early in the stretch we’re about to go here.”
The stretch, which began with Tuesday night's game, sees the Mets play 22 times over 23 days, with only Friday, June 19, without a fixture during that run.
David Peterson ‘ready to go’
Peterson could see action in Wednesday’s game as the left-hander has not appeared since tossing four scoreless frames on May 31 after his move to the bullpen.
Mendoza said the time out of action had been influenced by how the schedule fell, especially with the Padres sporting a very right-handed-heavy lineup during the series in San Diego.
“There’s a good chance he pitches tonight, so, he’s ready to go,” he said, adding that Peterson had been “touching the mound and throwing aggressive side [sessions]” and they don’t see the time off as an issue.
“This is a guy that we’re gonna use because he’s important for this team,” Mendoza said.
Odds and ends
The manager had nothing new to report on Kodai Senga other than the right-hander “felt good” on Tuesday after playing catch. The starter was scheduled to play catch again on Wednesday and Mendoza said he “wouldn’t be surprised if he was pitching in a game tomorrow or the next day.”
Senga was scratched from a rehab assignment with ulnar nerve irritation earlier this week.
Francisco Alvarez is back in the lineup as the DH on Wednesday, the day after making his return from the IL. Mendoza said there were “no issues” physically for the catcher after his first game back.
Tobias Myers is still working to get stretched out at Triple-A Syracuse, and is likely scheduled to throw around 35 to 40 pitches on Wednesday after throwing 1.1 innings on Sunday.
“After that, he’s probably gonna get three days [rest], and then revisit,” Mendoza said, adding the righty is “throwing the ball well, doing everything we’re asking him to do.”