MARCH 11: The injury is of the least-severe, Grade 1 variety, DiComo tweets. Conforto says he still does not know what kind of timeline he’ll be on as he works back.
MARCH 10: Conforto has been diagnosed with a strained right oblique, Van Wagenen announced to reporters (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). He’ll be reassessed next week. Asked whether Conforto would be ready for Opening Day, Van Wagenen only stated that it’s too early to tell. It’s worth noting, however, that even Grade 1 oblique strains can sideline a player for upwards of a month.
MARCH 9: Mets outfielder Michael Conforto is heading in for an examination after suffering an injury to his side, GM Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters including Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). The injury occurred on a recent play in the outfield.
Conforto has already undergone an MRI, though it’s not clear just what the scan showed. Between the imaging and his own discomfort, it seems, there was sufficient cause for an in-person look from team physician Dr. David Altchek.
At this point, there’s not much to do but hope for a good outcome. Conforto has previously undergone significant work on his shoulder, but had made a full recovery. Whether the present injury interacts with the old one in any way is not evident at this time.
Conforto, 27, is a key cog of the Mets lineup. He has been a steady producer at the plate ever since arriving in the majors, with a .253/.353/.481 career batting line. It’d obviously hurt quite a bit to lose Conforto, even for a relatively brief stretch.
It does bear noting that the Mets have some cause for optimism from another corner outfielder. The rehabbing Yoenis Cespedes is showing some signs of regaining his typically lofty form, Newsday’s David Lennon writes, though his timeline remains unknown and it remains to be seen how we’ll he’ll move on his surgically repaired ankles.
I really hate checking thus site during Spring Traing as 3/4 of the articles are about injured players. So depressing.
It’s always been like that. Nothing has changed besides it’s easier for you to receive the news as it happens.
That may be true, but it doesn’t make it any less depressing.
He knows it’s always been this way. Thus he is able to say “I hate checking this site during spring training.” If he hadn’t experienced that prior history at least a few times then he wouldnt hate checking this site during spring training.
I absolutely love checking this site during ST as 3/4 of the articles are about injured players. So informative- with mlb fantasy drafts around the corner this information is helpful to me.
Now it’s baseball season hope he isn’t out long he’s a key guy and very underrated
Go sign Puig , A Puig , Tebow, JD Davis outfield would be sick !
Well, sick is one way to put it…
That’s sounds like a OF the royals would have lol. Put soler at DH merry girl at 2b and Dozier at 3B
How does it feel knowing you guys cheated to win in 2015?
If we did the royals did too! Lol! They were hitting our pitching with scrubs like Escobar and hosmer 1 and 3 in their lineup
Hosmer had a 122 OPS+ in 2015. Not a scrub then.
? What do the Mets have to do with Royals cheating in 2015? DeGrom and Noah were wondering how Royals could hit pitches that normally they couldn’t.
…how?
Maybe Puig can teach Tebow how to tie his shoelaces — or buy him the new self-lacing Nikes with that fat contract he’s hoping for.
Mr. Jeff Todd,
I’m confused with your typing. “how we’ll he’ll move on his surgically repaired ankles”.
What it suppose to be?
Can you please fix it?
Autocorrect is the worst
Obviously it’s “well” instead of “we’ll.” No need to be calling writers out on a free site. Don’t like it? Then pony up a few dollars and go to the Athletic cheap ass
Watch your mouth, jyosuckas!
He’s right tho
How is it ‘calling writers out’ to ask a question if they don’t understand the point that was being made? Why does the cost of the site matter? Jeff Todd is an adult and surely welcomes criticism when it comes to his writing, even if it’s a simple typo.. I imagine he doesn’t like having errors on the site and likes when they’re pointed out.
Calling out typos is boring to readers/commenters.
It’s not boring.
It’s incredibly boring. You’re boring. This is a baseball site not an elementary English composition site. The writer’s intent was perfectly understandable. Your calling attention to it did nothing but draw attention to yourself and derail the thread. Boring.
I’m not boring. I’m a nice guy. You’re acting like a child.
Be careful what you said.
What I “said” or what I “say.” Now who’s making the mistake?
You’re the child drawing attention to yourself. Boring.
Be careful what you wish for.
Non sequitur.
Totally agree , boring as H E 2 double hockey sticks-
Dont clog up the posts with this crap
Josip, how about this? STFU and go away. No readers care about your quest for perfect grammar except you.
“What it supposed to be?”
Can you watch your typing, please?
I’m confused with your typing. “how we’ll he’ll move on his surgically repaired ankles”.
He also forgot to check his punctuation rules. Damn shame
That’s what Jeff Todd put.
LOL! I didnt realize I shared this sentiment with so many other posters. Looks like a lot of us are just sick of posters that come on this sports site and want to talk about spelling.
Amen. And thanks to all who posted the same sentiments. I come on here for substance and content and couldn’t care less (notice I used that in the proper context spelling police) about spelling or grammar.
Watch your mouth, jyosuckas!
Ooooohhhhhhhh
Very solid outfielder. I hope he doesn’t miss any significant time.
My side would also hurt if I played for the Mets.
No, you’re just laying on the remote again.
This is emblematic of the Mets roster. Despite Wags’ emphasis on depth, the Mets can’t handle the loss of any of their better players without seriously threatening to end up a .500 club.
“The rehabbing Yoenis Cespedes is showing some signs of regaining his typically lofty form.”
—No. Cespedes peaked in 2014 and 2015, when he was a 6 win player. Since then:
2016: 3 WAR
2017: 2 WAR
2018: 1 WAR
2019: 0 WAR
The author might be able to spot a trend, here. His peak is long, long gone. At best Cespedes’ defense will be JD Davis caliber, making him a decent, 1 win platoon guy, a 5th OFer and pinch hitter who gets 250-300 PAs, does some DH’ing, and adds a little to the team. He has no chance of being more than that, particularly in the NL. Let’s acknowledge that, at least.
To date, however, he’s the only Yoenis to ever p[ay in MLB, so he’ll always have that going for him.
I mean to be fair, Cespedes has been injured. If he is healthy and not chasing baby boars, his WAR may not be declining as drastically.
@VonPurpleHayes Great username, btw. To be fair, my friend, Yoenis wasn’t (afaict) chasing boars, big or small, in 2016, 2017, or 2018, and that didn’t keep him from the usual decline in a game that is more and more reserved for men in their 20s, and superstars.
He’s just old. It happens. He’s in his age 34 season. During the doldrums of winter I looked at most rosters and the contenders in particular are more likely than not to NOT have a regular position player age 34 or older. So it’s optimistic even to think Yo can pick up roughly where he left off 2 years ago, hitting .262/.325/.496. Most of the guys still healthy, still in peak condition, experience significant to drastic falloffs between 32 and 34, and even with new heels Yo’s not one of those healthy guys. He also came into camp with a gut. That doesn’t bode well.
Btw, a lot of people talk about the Mets as a young team, but they’re older than the NL average. If they have Cespedes in LF and deGrom on the mound, their average age on Opening Day is 30. They only have 2 regulars who are pre-prime, and even then at 24 and 25, it’s not by much. Fans don’t seem able to get their heads around the fact that peak in baseball is 27. I guess no one likes to think about getting old. Cheers,
Pretty eye opening. You’re right. I don’t really see the Mets as old, but the facts say otherwise.
Cespedes is unlikely to be fully ready in 2 weeks, given that he isn’t running yet.
And isn’t the average age stat greatly distorted by Canó? Back out oldest and youngest, and then what do you get?
Lets take a look –
OF- Conforto Nimmo Jd Davis all 27 Marisnick 29 Ces 34 – Pretty Prime OF
Inf- Rosario 24 McNeil 28 Alonso and Dom Smith 25 – I think theres 25+ teams that would take that for youth/talent in the inf
SP- Degrom 32 Noah 27 Matz 29 only players signed past this year- Think theres 25+ teams that would love that in the staff for youth/money/upside
Rp- Diaz 26 Lugo 30 – Famila 32 Wilson 30 Bets 32- Yea not old in the tooth here……..
I think your post is completely off Now that we really look into it the situation- In fact Mets are set up great for the future with only 76 mill on the books next year and 40 mill 2022 with a buncha talent still under arb years-
Im Not a Mets fan but lets be real about the situation their future looks bright with young players and there stars are in prime years not declining…… Citing Ces against the Mets is odd as hes looked at as more a wild card than a key cog in his final year in the big apple neways
Thank you! Someone with a brain
Rosario
Nimmo
Conforto
Davis
Thor
Diaz
Lugo
Degrom
Stroman (I hope they resign him)
Smith
Alonso
Gimenez
McNeil
Matz
All except stroman have 2+ years of control and most have 4/5 years left.
And when most of the contracts are up mets will have a heavily front loaded farm with
Alvarez
Mauricio
Allen
Baty
Vientos
The mets are primed for a nice decade and many teams would like to switch their situations…
Ramos, Cano, Cespedes bring up the average age.
Van Wagenen had a tough first year with Cano and Familia but if your a Mets fan you have to view it as a glass half full situation in at least they are not being cheap anymore with BVW –
The books are clean and getting a lot cleaner by next year as well
With continued (better) aggression w/ the money coupled with all those talents still in arb years and Degroom and Noah at the front BVW is in an enviable situation…. he has to do better though moving forward,,,,,,,,, things can Go south quick (see Philly !)
It’s difficult to produce WAR when the dude has been mostly on the shelf. He has a career 4.0 fWAR per 162 games played and is 32, not 42.
He’s 34 years old.
Is this:
‘Despite Wags’ emphasis on depth, the Mets can’t handle the loss of any of their better players without seriously threatening to end up a .500 club.’
…really supposed to be a criticism of the Brodie Van Wagen? How many teams in baseball can you say this about? Probably most that are predicted to be above .500. And then there’s half the league who’d be lucky to even be a .500 club.
@rct Yeah, it really is. That was Wag’s big thing. It was a clear, expressed preoccupation of his during the 2018-2019 offseason, but as early as May 2019 the club had to go outside the organization to get talents as limp as Wilmer Font and Aaron Altherr. That’s not just ignorant muckery, it’s gross incompetence.
Notice the same failures this offseason. Wags just doesn’t understand where the Mets are, what they need, nor why they failed in 2019. He’s done almost nothing with Syracuse even though the last 25 guys the Mets put on the field in 2019 out of something like 53 players, total, cost them 7 wins. That’s some depth, eh? On most contenders that number is half, and just half that number would have gotten the Mets to at least the 2nd wildcard playoff.
In addition, how many contenders have so little depth they can’t withstand the loss of even one good, if modest regular like Conforto? The answer is, Very few. If contenders don’t have a solid 4th OFer, then they have a milb system from which they can afford to deal. The Mets have neither.
They recalled Tebow
So shut him down for two weeks, ice and PT, and go from there. As long as it’s not a rib fracture, he’ll still have a week to get his timing.
But not having Conforto healthy really emphasizes just how thin the Mets have been in the outfield for a two years now. Relying heavily on Cespedes and Nimmo just does not bode well. The Mets cannot afford a weak start in that division, it’s just too strong.
One wrong step (or mood swing) from Cespedes and Dom Smith is the primary left fielder again. Mets should contact the A’s about Mateo who is out of options. I believe he was playing a lot of CF last year at AAA, is a natural SS and in a battle for the 2B job. At least he gives them some speed and depth which would free up McNeil and Davis for infield work.
Worst case, Mets need another true CF option. I was hoping to see McNeil getting reps there this spring, but not the case.
I wonder if the Mets have talked to the Reds yet? They seem to have an abundance of outfielders and not enough spots.
Mets still do as well.
With all the talk about how poorly BVW has done, it might be important to remember that they improved by 9 games from 2018. The OF includes Nimmo, Davis, McNeil, Marisnick, Cespedes, Smith, Parker, Cordell and Conforto. I am sure they could survive an injury. Of course a long term injury would be a negative. To say that he has not provided any depth is not accurate. No team has proven starters sitting on the bench. Parker and Cordell are interesting pick ups. Both have been good prospects who didn’t put it together at the major league level. Maybe one or the other could get it together if needed.
With all the talk about how poorly BVW has done, it might be important to remember that they improved by 9 games from 2018.
——————————————————
Imagine how well they’d have done had he made no moves at all?
The problem here is that this division is so strong, EVERY game matters. A team from the East could theoretically win 90 games and miss the post season. I just don’t think any of the 4 contenders can sit on their hands for 3 or 4 weeks while hoping their 4th or 5th outfielders can carry the load for a 3-4-5 hitter. Can any team really count on getting lucky over proven quality? How many outfielders did the Mets sign for “depth” last year like Rajai Davis and Matt Kemp. There is a reason all these types of players are available every year. Maybe hanging on to the likes of Dom Smith and JD Davis is the best non-move in the long run?
The rehabbing Yoenis Cespedes is showing some signs of regaining his typically lofty form, Newsday’s David Lennon writes, though his timeline remains unknown and it remains to be seen how we’ll he’ll move on his surgically repaired ankles.
——————————————————————————
I’m not sure how to process this.
He has no ST at-bats, and apparently not running. But he is showing signs of regaining his typically lofty form?
Every time the wind blows, he is injured. Where is that ahole nymetsfan guy talking how they got a great OF and top 5 offense. Haha. Next week be Nimmo. Both fragile. Their goes their World Series chance. Lol. Conforto so good he can’t stay on field.
The Mets do have a better OF than you guys and it’s no even close…. losing conforto will hurt but he will be back long before the playoffs start and it won’t affect us.. I mean the Indians won’t even make it so there is that!!! Our back up OF (Smith) has horrible defense but would our hit anybody in your OF so I think we should be good! Marisnick and smith platoon should be enough until conforto gets back… good luck with the 500 Indians tho!!!
Why come people have obliques but not acutes?
Your being rather obtuse here
I don’t think you’re seeing this from the right angle…
Geometry again? Feels like we’re going around in circles.
Or an isosceles or two?
Have you ever sprained a rhomboid?
Thankfully they have sufficient quality depth around the diamond.
Cor blimey, so much side discomfort these days! What gives?!
ugg
Jeff Todd is literally the dumbest person on the planet! I don’t even understand how someone so dumb can even have a functioning life…
Opinions without backup, are meaningless.
Doesn’t make sense to change the schedule for baseball. There are far bigger issues out there like the flu
Shows your ignorance about the differences between COVID-19 and the flu. You need to listen to healthcare professionals, and in particular public health professionals, who have no illusions about the severity of the threat in comparison to the flu. I think this is why they closed the comments section on the COVID-19 article.