Stroman MRI clean, Mets optimistic he can make next start
Marcus Stroman and the Mets received good news on the pitcher’s status a day after he left his start early with an injury. The MRI on Stroman’s left hip came back clean, Luis Rojas said, indicating there is no structural or bone damage. Stroman still felt soreness in his hip on Wednesday, Rojas said, and is considered day-to-day.
“Working on it,” Stroman said near the Mets dugout on Wednesday when asked how his hip felt.
Stroman left his Tuesday night outing against the Braves in the second inning. He felt a twinge and Rojas, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and a trainer emerged from the dugout to check on him. Stroman wanted to stay in the game – he threw a few practice pitches off the mound – but the Mets took him out to be cautious and to prevent him from worsening the injury. The Mets are hopeful he can avoid the injured list. Stroman has a 2.32 ERA across his first 15 starts for the best stretch in his career, by that measure.
“He is optimistic he can make his next start,” Rojas said of Stroman’s status. “But that’s something as a group we want to reassess and work on getting the soreness out of there. This guy is a warrior. He thinks he can do everything even when he’s limited. But right now, the smart thing is to get treated today.”
CONFORTO BACK, FOR REAL THIS TIME
Michael Conforto returned to the Mets lineup against the Braves on Wednesday night, batting third and playing right field, following a COVID-related delay. He was scheduled to be activated on Tuesday, but the Triple-A Syracuse Mets announced a player tested positive for the virus, prompting additional testing and contract tracing for members of the organization. Conforto played for Syracuse on Sunday.
“I had a lot of tests, a lot of negatives,” said Conforto, who added he took three COVID tests before coming off the IL and joining the Mets on Wednesday.
Now that the COVID scare is behind him and the Mets, one of the clubs that has not yet reached the 85% vaccination threshold that would allow it to relax protocols, Conforto is looking forward to playing at his full potential.
Conforto went on the IL on May 17 with a strained right hamstring. He returns to action with a .230/.356/.336 slashline, .692 OPS, two home runs, 18 walks and 13 RBI over his first 113 at-bats of the year. Conforto is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2021 season.
“I wasn’t too happy with it,” Conforto said of his performance before the hamstring injury. “I think I was starting to get going a little bit right before I got hurt, and that was frustrating. But the only way to go is forward, put my focus on getting better and getting stronger and trying to crush the rehab.
“I get a fresh start from here on out, so I’m just going to try to stay healthy, try to be available and keep on that incline that I was on before I got hurt.”
NIDO LANDS ON IL
Tomas Nido, who was hit on the wrist by a pitch on Monday, went on the IL on Wednesday as part of a flurry of Mets roster moves. The Mets called up backup catcher Patrick Mazeika this week and, behind starting catcher James McCann, he remains the only backstop on the bench in the event of an emergency.
The Mets also called up right-hander Corey Oswalt and Wednesday night’s starter, Tylor Megill, from Triple-A Syracuse. As corresponding moves, right-handers Sean Reid-Foley and Yennsy Diaz were optioned to Syracuse and Joey Lucchesi (Tommy John surgery) and Robert Gsellman (right lat strain) were transferred to the 60-day IL.