SAN DIEGO — Everything’s coming up Mets.
One day after sustaining concerning injuries, both Pete Alonso (hit by pitch on right hand) and Starling Marte (left quad tightness) said they woke up feeling better than they originally expected. Alonso has no broken bones in his right hand, after getting drilled by a Yu Darvish 95-mph fastball, and Marte’s MRI revealed nothing more than a tight quad.
As if that relief wasn’t enough, both Alonso and Marte said they believe they can avoid the injured list. For now, they are considered day-to-day. So, adjust your expectations for the 2022 Mets accordingly, because so far all they’ve shown us is this resilient squad is unlike the wounded and snakebitten teams in years past.
“This is probably the best-case scenario for sure,” Alonso said.
Marte, who is dealing with a quad injury for the first time in his career, said: “Thank God I feel good. It could’ve been worse. Right now it’s day to day. We’ve been working pretty much all morning to get it right and hopefully I’ll be back out there soon.”
Their comments indicate they avoided the worst, but both Alonso and Marte were not in the Mets lineup on Wednesday for the series finale against the Padres at Petco Park. The first baseman and right fielder will continue to work on getting better in the trainer’s room. Alonso wore a brace on his right hand to get the swelling down, and Marte said he will treat his quad tightness with ice and compression.
Khalil Lee, 23, was called up from Triple-A Syracuse for outfield depth in place of Marte. Mets right-handed reliever Adonis Medina was optioned to Syracuse, just three days after his first career save in his huge 10th-inning outing against the Dodgers on Sunday. Mets manager Buck Showalter said it was tough to send Medina down, but he’s confident the reliever will be back up helping the big-league team soon.
“They felt better than they thought they were going to feel,” Showalter said of Alonso and Marte. “They obviously can’t play tonight. There’s a lot of emotion flying around when something initially happens.”
Alonso said earlier this year that his goal was to play the full 162-game season, and he was on his way to accomplishing that goal when he played all 58 of the Mets’ games this season leading up to the hit by pitch. Even though his 151-game streak, dating back to last season, was snapped on Wednesday, Alonso looked on the bright side.
“I still feel like I’ll play more than 162 games because we got the playoffs coming up — if we earn that right,” the first baseman said. “I want to be prepared for the long haul and play all the way through October. The math will probably add up to more than 162.”
Alonso said it was a “scary moment” when he was hit on his right hand in the second inning of the Mets’ 7-0 loss to the Padres on Tuesday. He has broken his left hand twice before, once in the minors and once in college, so he was concerned that his right hand would have a similar diagnosis. But now the Mets slugger, with no broken bones, will just wait for the swelling to disappear before assessing when he’s cleared to return to the team.
Marte’s left quad tightened up after he was caught stealing second base to end the first inning on Tuesday. He said Showalter and the Mets were worried because Marte couldn’t walk properly after he opted to play the bottom half of the first inning. Following a day of rest and treatment, Marte is optimistic he can return to the lineup before the team’s road trip ends on Sunday in Anaheim.
“I was worried but they were probably more worried just because of how I was walking and I’ve never had that injury, so I didn’t know how I was going to react to it,” Marte said. “But we feel better now. Should be back out there in the next couple of days.”
Following his brief demotion to Low-A St. Lucie last month, outfielder Lee returned to Triple-A Syracuse and batted .333 with four home runs, 11 RBI, four walks and 17 strikeouts over his last 12 games. Though the message was sent, and Lee bounced back, his true test and biggest challenge will be finding success with the Mets in the major leagues.
In 11 big-leagues games last season, while Lee’s defense in the outfield was a good resource, he struck out 13 times in 18 at-bats. But now, a year older and with more experience, Lee will get the chance to step up under Showalter’s Mets. One thing the skipper has shown during his time at the helm is he will play the rookies and give them the chance to shine. So these next couple of weeks while Marte is on the IL will be a big opportunity for Lee to do his part helping the 2022 Mets.
“Kind of fortifying what we thought and saw in spring,” Showalter said of his reports on Lee. “It’s probably the best part of the year for him so far.”
Dominic Smith remained with Triple-A Syracuse. He’s 4-for-14 with one home run, three RBI and a walk across his three games in the minors since he was demoted on May 31.
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