No team in baseball has dealt with more injuries this season than the New York Yankees. The Yankees entered Monday having already lost more than 1,000 days to the shelf -- around 150 more than any other club, and nearly twice as many as the New York Mets. Yet the Mets, as they are wont to do, are beginning to make waves for how they're handling their injuries.
Or, as New York Post reporter Zach Brazille put it:
Weekend with #mets: The GM won't say if Jed Lowrie has a new injury, despite suggesting there is one; Brandon Nimmo now seeing neck specialists for injury team has said was merely "soreness"; and team won't reveal MRI results for Noah Syndergaard that was taken Sunday AM
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) June 17, 2019
Let's touch on the three injuries of note here
We'll start with the most recent injury the Mets suffered: Noah Syndergaard left his start on Saturday with a pulled hamstring. He was subsequently placed on the injured list. Though the Mets and Syndergaard don't believe it to be severe:
The Mets are officially calling this a "low-grade hamstring" strain for Noah Syndergaard, per Mickey Callaway.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 17, 2019
Callaway is not saying whom he expects to take Syndergaard's place, though he named Wilmer Font as a "very intriguing" option. Seth Lugo is not a candidate.
Mickey Callaway said the Mets don’t have the results from Noah Syndergaard’s MRI this morning.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) June 16, 2019
“It’s very mild,” is all Syndergaard said before briskly walking away.
There's no telling for sure when it comes to the Mets, but Syndergaard will almost certainly be the first of the three players covered here to return to the active roster.
When the Mets signed Jed Lowrie to a two-year deal worth $20 million over the offseason, it looked like a savvy move. Lowrie had made the All-Star team last summer, and had played in 150-plus games in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. Naturally, it's mid-June and he's yet to make his regular-season debut for the Mets.
Lowrie was first sidelined by a strained knee, then had his rehab assignment suspended in May after he suffered a strained hamstring. Last week manager Mickey Callaway deemed him "not close" to beginning another rehab assignment. Lowrie is said to be taking groundballs, so at least he has that going for him. It's probably safe to rule him out for the rest of the first half.
Brandon Nimmo was supposed to be one of New York's main building blocks: a 26-year-old with elite on-base skills and budding power. He struggled in 43 games before hitting the injured list, due in part to the bulging disc in his neck. Nimmo is now expected to get a second opinion on his neck from the same doctor who treated former Mets third baseman David Wright:
Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo is scheduled to visit Dr. Robert Watkins in LA this week for a second opinion -- the same back/neck specialist that spearheaded David Wright's treatment.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 17, 2019
Nimmo has been affected since April by a bulging disc in his neck, and the affects of whiplash.
Nimmo had recently started a rehab assignment. Obviously it doesn't seem as though he's likely to resume that in the near term.
Remember you can keep track of all of baseball's injuries using our tracker.
