As you no doubt have noticed, centerfielder Juan Lagares is back in the lineup and batting second after missing three games with a strain near his right arm pit.
Manager Terry Collins told reporters that Lagares is not totally healed but that, “Juan has to play through the discomfort.”
“When Juan is hitting, he is a dangerous hitter, that’s why we liked him in the middle of lineup. Defensively, I think it speaks for itself. When you have the best centerfielder in the game, it’s nice to have him back.”
Amen…
May 12
Juan Lagares is not in Tuesday’s lineup because of what the team is calling a “slight strain” in his right arm pit.
Manager Terry Collins said Lagares suffered the injury on the play last Tuesday at Citi Field, when he nearly collided with left fielder Michael Cuddyer while making a diving catch on a line drive by Baltimore’s Everth Cabrera.
Lagares underwent an MRI this morning, according to Collins, which showed nothing alarming. (Adam Rubin, ESPN New York)
“There’s no breaks. There’s no blood clots,” Collins said. “There’s no real severe trauma area. It’s just been bothering him. It bothers him to throw a little bit. It hurts him to run.”
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it hurts him worse swinging than he admits, too. It’s kind of bothered him more in the last few days than it did when it first happened. If one or two days [off] means he’ll be OK, then we’ll give him that.”
“I thought with the time, the little pain would go away. It’s still there,” Lagares said. “It’s just a little, but probably I tried to do too much. I’ll take today and let’s see tomorrow, I hope. I’m praying for tomorrow.”
Rubin points out that elated or not, Lagares is 2-for-25 in his past six games.
