Mets' Michael Conforto To Begin a Rehab Assignment Tonight
With Jeff McNeil's return looming, outfielder Michael Conforto is not very far behind.
According to manager Luis Rojas, Conforto will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday night.
The plan is for Conforto to play five innings, accumulating 2-3 at-bats along the way. He will likely need to play in several more rehab games in order to ramp up, given the fact that he has missed a month of action.
If all goes well, Conforto could rejoin the Mets as early as next week, per Rojas.
Conforto went down with a hamstring injury that has kept him out since May 16. In his absence, the Mets acquired Billy McKinney to fill his spot, who has performed adequately.
Upon Conforto's return, the Mets plan to play McKinney in center field with Conforto playing in right.
The addition of Conforto will be a huge boost to the Mets' lineup, along with McNeil, as the team is beginning to get some important reinforcements back.
And the timing could not be any better given the club's recent play, as they look to build on their five-game lead in the National League East division.
In other news: Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco has resumed throwing off flat ground, as he continues to make his way back from a torn hamstring, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The right-hander will not throw any bullpen sessions off a slope just yet, but the Mets still expect him to be able to return in July.
As for relief pitcher Miguel Castro (neck tightness), he threw a side session on Tuesday and will be available out of the bullpen tonight.
Regarding ace pitcher Jacob deGrom (right flexor tendinitis), the Mets will monitor him from inning-to-inning in his start on Wednesday out of precaution.
Looking ahead to the Mets' weekend series with the Nationals, Rojas says Sean Reid-Foley and Robert Gsellman could be used as starters/openers for the double header on Saturday. But this is dependent on how the bullpen is used in the coming days.
