Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns each spoke to the media on Friday regarding updates on some of the team's key players before New York began a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field.
Jorge Polanco 'feeling better'
After dealing with Achilles tendinitis/bursitis since the beginning of the season which relegated him to either designated hitter or out of the lineup as he tried to manage his discomfort, Polanco was finally placed on the injured list on April 18, retroactively to April 15, with a right wrist contusion.
Since then, the switch-hitting infielder has begun to feel better and started to do some baseball activity on Friday.
"Playing catch, hitting from the right side," Mendoza said.
The skipper said aside from that there's not much else to report on Polanco, but was then asked if he considers the 32-year-old to still be a ways away from returning. While Mendoza said it's a "tricky" situation, citing Polanco is still dealing with both the Achilles injury as well as the wrist issue, he also mentioned that Polanco "could turn the corner at any point".
A few moments later, Stearns was asked about the veteran's possible return status and said he considers him "week-to-week".
"Every day we get a little more information," Stearns said. "He'll go through some more testing this weekend. My expectation would be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday next week we'll be able to have a little bit more clarity, but the best we know right now is week-to-week."
After signing a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason, Polanco is slashing .179/.246/.286 in 14 games.
David Peterson back in the mix
Peterson's last start for the Mets came on April 13 against the Los Angeles Dodgers where he allowed four earned runs in five innings. It was the third consecutive rocky start for the left-hander who also got hit hard to end last season.
In his next scheduled outing, New York decided to go with Tobias Myers for the first two innings before Peterson entered the game where he was much better, going 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.
When his spot in the rotation came around again on Thursday, the Mets opted to start Christian Scott who was promoted from Triple-A. Once again, Peterson came in relief after Scott lasted just 1.1 innings and threw 3.1 effective innings to help New York seal the series win.
Following his brief departure from the starting rotation, it appears Peterson has pitched his way back in, in some form or another, after the Mets sent Scott back down to the minors. Mendoza laid out the pitching plan for the next few days which includes an off day on Monday.
"We're gonna stay with Freddy [Peralta] today, [then] Kodai [Senga], Nolan [McLean], Clay [Holmes] after the off day and then we'll see," the manager said. "Whether it's Peterson starting that day or — we told Petey to be ready to pitch that day, so whether there’s an opener in front of him [or if] he’s gonna start, we still don’t know but that’s kinda what we’ve got going right now."
Part of the unknown relates to how New York uses Sean Manaea out of the bullpen before Peterson's turn in the rotation. Manaea, one of the Mets' long-relievers, last pitched on April 17 where he had his first bad outing of the season, giving up five earned runs in four innings. Prior to that, the left-hander had a 2.25 ERA in 10.2 innings and can give the Mets length from the bullpen if any starter falters.
"It depends on how we use Sean in the next few days, but we feel good with Petey starting, obviously, but again we still gotta play 3-4 [games]," Mendoza said. "We got an off day on Monday, but the one thing we told Petey was just be ready to pitch on Wednesday."
A.J Minter's timeline
Out for nearly a full calendar year with a left lat strain, Minter's return to the team continues to get closer.
"We're still on the same timeline," Stearns said. "Early May. First week, 10 days of May I think is realistic. That's roughly, I believe, where his rehab stint goes through.
"A couple of benchmarks we still gotta clear -- two out of threes, we gotta clear back-to-backs, sort of the dirty inning cleanup, those types of things. Make sure he feels good and then we'll get him back here and he can help us."
The left-handed reliever has made five rehab appearances in the minor leagues and has a 1.93 ERA in 4.2 innings.
Keeping Juan Soto healthy
Soto is once again DHing for the Mets on Friday as the team continues to do whatever it can to keep the superstar's bat in the lineup. In three games since his return from a calf injury, Soto has yet to play in the outfield.
Mendoza mentioned that he thought about having Soto play the outfield on Thursday, but had he done that Soto would have probably been out of the lineup today so he opted to DH him both days. It's something that will likely continue to happen as New York wants to be smart about how it goes about keeping Soto healthy.
However, with Francisco Lindor now out for the foreseeable future with his own calf injury and the offense struggling before Thursday's 10-run explosion, the Mets will not run Soto into the ground.
"We’re not gonna put him at risk," Mendoza said. "If he needs a day, he needs a day. Just like finding ways to keep his bat in the lineup while we’re not putting him at risk… As much as we need his bat in the lineup, he’s gonna get days."
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