With just a few minutes to go before the first pitch on Saturday against the Miami Marlins, the New York Mets scratched outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the lineup and replaced him with Michael Conforto.
The Mets later announced that Cespedes is suffering from a sore right hip and described his status as day-to-day.
Cespedes, who got the day off on Wednesday, returned to the starting lineup on Friday night and went 2-for-4 with a double. He is batting .278 with a team-high 15 home runs
The slumping Conforto was scheduled to have Saturday off against the left-handed Justin Nicolino, but was slotted into the seventh spot of the order. He is 1-for-26 over his last seven games.
“Pretty much the consensus of the staff is we’ve got to push this kid through this,” Terry Collins said before the game.
“So we’ll continue to do that. We’ll pick and choose our spots where he doesn’t play. But we’re all behind him. So we’re trying to make the best decisions to get him back in a groove.”
When Cespedes got the game off on Wednesday, it was originally reported that he approached Collins and said he was fatigued.
However, after the game, Collins said he went to Cespedes and suggested the day off because he was slumping and pressing at the plate.
Tough to know what really transpired because Collins is so extremely protective of his players. We’ll learn more after the game.
