Michael Conforto starts rehab assignment; Brandon Nimmo not too far behind
It’s been nearly seven weeks since outfielders Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Dominic Smith were in the starting lineup together. Finally, that trio is expected to be reunited by the end of this month.
Conforto (strained right hamstring) embarked on his first rehab assignment on Wednesday. He was scheduled to play five innings in right field and take at least a couple of at-bats for Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets expect him to come off the injured list and rejoin the club sometime next week, per Luis Rojas.
Brandon Nimmo (ligament tear in left index finger) is inching closer to starting his own rehab assignment. The center fielder has been participating in batting practice since Monday after being shut down from intensive swinging for the better part of the past month. He expects to hit off the high velocity machine, which offers more weight behind the ball in addition to being faster, in the next few days. Once he clears the high velocity hurdle, he can begin playing in rehab games.
“Looks like ultimately, we might be coming back around the same time, hopefully,” Nimmo said, expecting his timeline to be right behind Conforto.
Rojas said Conforto is starting his rehab assignment “a lot sooner than we thought.” The right fielder went on the IL on May 17 with a strain in his right hamstring. Though the team neglected to make public the grade or severity of his strain, the Mets originally didn’t expect Conforto to begin a rehab assignment until the end of June.
Nimmo, a close friend of Conforto’s, offered an explanation for his quicker journey.
“The one thing with Mike that you don’t see behind the scenes is that he works really really hard,” Nimmo said. “He’s obviously really competitive. So when he saw Jeff [McNeil] coming back pretty soon, he wanted to speed up his rehab as well.
“He’s been doing everything they’ve been asking of him, and more. So it doesn’t surprise me that he’s coming back a little bit sooner.”
McNeil (left hamstring strain) went on the IL on May 17, too, and started his rehab assignment for Class-A Brooklyn on Sunday – just three days before Conforto. He went 0-for-2 in his first game and shifted his rehab to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, where he went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two strikeouts. McNeil will continue rehabbing with Syracuse for a few more games, and the Mets expect him to return to the lineup this weekend for their series against the Nationals.
When it comes to Nimmo’s progression, it’s a little bit more complicated. He hasn’t played a game since May 2 in Philly, around the time he first started feeling a sharp pain in his left index finger. The team initially believed he was dealing with a nerve issue in his finger and, after some treatment, Nimmo started a rehab assignment for Syracuse. That quick advancement to rehab games turned out to be a bad idea when Nimmo suffered a setback while swinging at Triple-A.
In the past month, he finally received a better understanding of the source of his pain which led to an improved treatment plan. Nimmo’s injury was a small ligament tear near the base of his left index finger rather than a nerve issue. In the past few days, he’s been swinging pain-free during batting practice. On Wednesday, he launched a couple of home runs to the second deck in right field and said that was the best he’s felt so far in his recovery.
“It’s just good to get that feeling and normalcy back,” Nimmo said.
FULL CAPACITY
Speaking of normalcy, the Mets will return to full capacity at Citi Field on Monday for their doubleheader against the Braves. In other words, there is space for 41,922 fans to come and see the first-place Mets beginning with their next homestand.
Social distancing and mask requirements at the ballpark have been eased effective immediately, the team announced on Wednesday. Fans no longer need to show proof of a negative COVID test and/or vaccination to enter the ballpark with a valid ticket.
Unvaccinated fans will still be required to wear a mask at Citi Field.
OH NO, DELLIN
Dellin Betances (right shoulder impingement) pitched a scoreless inning in his first rehab assignment for Low-A St. Lucie Mets on Sunday, but he had a rough go of it in his second rehab outing on Wednesday.
Betances allowed five earned runs on three hits, administered two walks, and only recorded one out across 23 pitches. He’s been on the IL since April 8 and has made just one relief appearance for the Mets this season. He was charged with an earned run, gave up one walk and a hit batsman in his lone outing against the Phillies on April 7.
“I’m aware that he didn’t finish the inning,” Rojas said. “I’m aware that he recorded one out. But we were not looking at the performance part, giving up runs or not finishing an inning. We just want to see his reads, we just want to see if his arm was in the correct slot, if he was consistently hitting the release point that we want and obviously how he feels after the outing.
“I think all those are good. They’re where we want them and that’s it. Looking forward to his next outing out there.”
