Jesse Winker has maintained his status as a fan favorite even while being sidelined with an oblique strain. Thursday afternoon at Citi Field he gave his fans something to cheer about when he took batting practice on the field.
It was the final step before a minor league rehab assignment for the outfielder/DH. Winker is cleared to start getting into games again and will do so Sunday with High-A Brooklyn.
“It looks normal,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “No hesitation, just going through his normal routine, and he’ not favoring anything. He’s scheduled to start DHing on Sunday, most likely here in Brooklyn.”
Winker has been on the injured list since May 5, and is eligible to return for the Subway Series on July 4. However, the Mets have been using all of the allotted time for minor league rehab assignments this season, which is 20 days for position players and 30 for pitchers. He will continue to hit this weekend in anticipation for his first rehab game.
At the time of the injury, he was hitting .239 with a home run, five doubles and two triples.
Mark Vientos returned from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, but the Mets won’t activate him until the weekend series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The Mets have to figure out whether or not they can keep all three of their young infielders on the Major League roster, Vientos, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio.
“The plan is for him to be active tomorrow, and the way I see it is this will continue to be a puzzle where I have to work the pieces and put everything in place,” Mendoza said. “There’s going to be a few spots in the lineup they’ll be kind of rotating, and I think that’s a good problem to have.”
Luisangel Acuña, who made the team out of camp, was sent to Triple-A over the weekend to be able to play everyday. The same decision could be made for Mauricio, who has shown flashes of being a top hitter, but still isn’t quite controlling the strike zone the way he needs to at the big league level.
Mauricio has hit .224 with three home runs in 17 games, striking out 19 times in 62 plate appearances.
“I’ve been impressed with how he’s handled adversity,” Mendoza said. “I hadn’t been around him much because the whole year last year he was rehabbing, and still this year in spring training. He wasn’t around much, just in the training room and doing backfield drills and things like that. But just watching him at this level, after missing so much time and struggling, he’s been the same guy. Steady, continues to work, continues to ask for feedback and for help. That’s what’s been impressive.”
Mauricio would provide some insurance in the event that Francisco Lindor is injured since the Mets don’t have another shortstop on the roster. Lindor takes pride in playing every day and playing all nine innings of every game, but the Mets still like to take him out near the end of games at times to give him a break. McNeil has played shortstop, but not in some time. Baty can play second, but the Mets have been hesitant to use him elsewhere in the middle infield since it’s not his primary position.
Mauricio’s baserunning ability is also an asset. Acuña was often used as a pinch-runner before his demotion. The Mets could option Jared Young without losing a left-handed bat since Mauricio is a switch-hitter.
Left-hander Sean Manaea played catch Thursday and is tentatively scheduled to throw a bullpen this weekend. Should he come out of that without elbow or oblique pain, he’ll make his final rehab start early next week.
ROSTER MOVE
The Mets optioned right-hander Jonathan Pintaro to Triple-A Syracuse following Wednesday night’s game and called up right-hander Austin Warren to give the bullpen a fresh arm. While it was a demotion for Pintaro, technically, it was also a promotion. Pintaro was called up from Double-A Binghamton on Wednesday and had yet to pitch in Triple-A this season.