With just eight games left until Opening Day, Terry Collins told reporters that he is concerned that Daniel Murphy won’t be ready to begin the season on time.
Murphy ran yesterday and reported no problems, so we’re not sure if there’s been any setback. He’s been dealing with a strained right hamstring that has kept him out a week now.
“Any hamstring is typically, minimum, a couple of weeks,” general manager Sandy Alderson said.
“For him to come back sooner than roughly Opening Day would be a little surprising. But given the way he felt and the fact it was a very mild strain, it’s still a possibility he could be ready. I don’t think it’s anything we can predict right now.”
Murphy was slated to get back into a game this weekend, no word if that’s been called off.
If Murphy were to begin the season on the DL, the Mets will most likely go with Matt Reynolds as his replacement at second base.
March 24
According to manager Terry Collins, second baseman Daniel Murphy has been cleared to return to baseball activities.
For now there is no specific timetable set for his return, but clearly this is a very positive development.
We’ll update this post as soon as we learn more.
March 20
The team announced earlier today that Daniel Murphy will miss at least a week with a right hamstring pull after reviewing the results of an MRI taken on Friday.
The Mets will continue to go with Matt Reynolds or Danny Muno at second base in Murphy’s absence.
“We’ll see how it feels tomorrow,” Murphy told reporters. “There’s nothing I can do about it now other than try to let it heal.”
However, a report from Adam Rubin says Murphy could open the season on the disabled list according to general manager Sandy Alderson.
“He’ll be out a week or so, maybe a little longer,” Alderson said. “Hamstrings take longer than people want to admit.”
With the Mets slated to open the season at Washington in 16 days, Alderson acknowledged Murphy could be facing a season-opening DL stint.
Alderson also said there are no plans to bring back Dilson Herrera — either now or at the start of the regular season.
The candidates to replace Murphy are either Reynolds or Muno if necessary, and Herrera is not an option
Don’t worry about Ruben Tejada as his name never even came up and Alderson added that Wilmer Flores will remain the shortstop no matter what.
“Wilmer is the shortstop. Wilmer is the shortstop,” Alderson said twice. “It’s taken us this long to convince you guys that Wilmer is the shortstop.”
