The Mets have reached a level of banged-up to where catcher James McCann is getting a start at first base for the first time in his professional baseball career, and a lot of their walking wounded are not on the cusp of making a return.
Acting general manager Zack Scott told reporters on Monday that Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto are dealing with "significant" hamstring strains, and will likely need another month at the least before coming back to help a depleted outfield that is also missing Albert Almora Jr., Kevin Pillar and Brandon Nimmo.
"I think those guys, they'll be out for a while," Scott said. "They're significant hamstring strains. I know they're working hard to get back, but if I were to put a timetable on that, you're probably looking at late June."
The Mets had to make a trade for veteran Cameron Maybin, who was batting under .200 in the minors with the Cubs, to help fill the bare outfield. The pitching staff has also been stretched thin, and Carlos Carrasco is still progressing slowly and likely won't be making his Mets debut in the near future.
"Carlos, if I'm going to put a time estimate on it, probably looking at maybe late June or early July, that type of time frame," Scott said. "But he's working hard…he's feeling good…I put a timetable on it, but it's an estimate…there's a rehab process that happens, and you ramp up intensity as you get the guy ready for major league games. So he's not at that highest intensity level yet. We'll learn more when he gets there, but he feels good right now."
Noah Syndergaard is still on track for a mid-June return, and Pete Alonso could be back next week from his hand injury that put him on the 10-day IL, and Seth Lugo could be back in a week as well, representing some reinforcements that could be on their way in the short term.
"Seth is progressing well," Scott said. "He's on pace to come off the IL pretty much as soon as he can, which I think his first day of eligibility is [May] 31, so he's probably looking about right around that time, either that day or [June] 1, hopefully."
The Mets have been ravaged by injuries and are trying to hold their slim lead atop the NL East standings. With many key players not due back for at least another month, Scott and the front office continue to search for ways to upgrade the roster and weather the storm, whether it be internally or through the trade market.
"I'm pretty much on the phone all day, every day," Scott said. "We have to always find the best solutions always, that's really the job of baseball operations, as far as the major league focus goes. We're trying to find the best internal options, external options…it's really all of the above."
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