After finally seeing a doctor on Sunday, Juan Lagares was diagnosed with a sprained left thumb, Terry Collins told reporters.
Instead of flying with his teammates to Pittsburgh, Lagares will instead take a flight to New York for further examination by the team’s medical staff and an MRI.
Original Report
Juan Lagares made another one of his spectacular diving catches on Saturday that saved the game for the Mets, but could end up sidelining him for a few days.
Juan’s diving grab robbed Ichiro Suzuki of a two-run double that would have put the Marlins up 5-2 in the sixth inning and changed the momentum of the game. Instead, it kept the Mets within striking distance and they eventually won the ballgame and picked up a full game on the division-leading Washington Nationals.
However, the defensive play of the game may have come at a cost, as Lagares was eventually removed from the game with what the team is calling a “bruised thumb” for now until he can have a doctor look at it. He will undergo further testing on Sunday to determine the full extent of the injury.
“I just felt a little weird,” said Lagares, who was pinch-hit for after playing through the injury for an inning. “I don’t want to take the chance. I just wanted to make sure it’s okay. We’ll see Sunday how it feels.”
Asked if he was concerned about the severity of the injury, Lagares responded, “not really”, adding that he was not feeling any acute pain.
Oddly enough, there were no doctors available at Marlins Park according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin, which made it difficult to get an accurate diagnosis on Lagares, and also Yoenis Cespedes who was scratched from the game with a sore hip. So both will be sent to area doctors in the morning.
The Mets can ill-afford to lose anymore players to injury with three of their starting position players already on the DL.
On a positive note, infielder Matt Reynolds, who pinch hit for Lagares in the eighth inning, ended up driving in the go-ahead run for the Mets. It was his first career RBI and it could not have come at a better time.
Here’s the catch Lagares made in case you missed it, Howie Rose with the call…
