NY Mets' Jeff McNeil dealing with some 'wear and tear' in his legs

NEW YORK – On Sunday night, Jeff McNeil's pain was Nick Plummer's gain.

The Mets kept McNeil out of the starting lineup for the series finale against Philadelphia to give his legs some rest after a busy stretch in the schedule. Manager Buck Showalter revealed that McNeil endured "some wear and tear" after logging eight games in the span of eight days.

His absence opened up a spot for the rookie Plummer, who took over in left field for his first major league start.

Showalter added that McNeil would be available off the bench while working through "a day-to-day" issue.

"Obviously he's been a real active guy," Showalter said Sunday afternoon. "We're just trying to be preventative and get ahead of something that might turn into something if we don't take some precautions here and there."

Up to this point, McNeil has turned in one of the best seasons of his career. He's recorded a hit in 11 of his last 13 games and ranks fourth in the National League with a .319 batting average.

McNeil belted a three-run home run in the Mets' win on Saturday, but was pulled for a pinch-runner in the bottom of the seventh inning.

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The early exit came three days after an awkward crash in the outfield at San Francisco's Oracle Park. McNeil went knee-first into the left field wall on a sliding catch and exited an inning later with a knee contusion.

"That’s kind of who I am and how I’ve played the game for my whole life," McNeil told reporters. "I don’t think I’m ever going to stop playing hard."

Waiting on Nimmo

Brandon Nimmo was not in the starting lineup for the second straight night while nursing a sprained right wrist. Nimmo downplayed the injury on Saturday before heading for a cortisone shot.

An MRI showed no structural damage to Nimmo, who came into Sunday on a 10-game hitting streak.

Showalter said Nimmo was also an option off the bench if the situation presented itself.

"Good, he's getting there," Showalter said. "Heck I left here last night and he was still here. I had a good conversation. I think it'll be soon. Who knows? Maybe he'll find some way to get in tonight."

With Nimmo on the shelf, Luis Guillorme has taken over as the Mets' de facto leadoff man. Guillorme prompted that move with a career-best .439 on-base percentage through his first 30 games of the season.

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Showalter described Guillorme as someone who always intrigued him from afar despite limited offensive success in his first four years in New York.

"I think Luis has always been capable of this," Showalter said.

"It's a real rare skillset to do the things defensively that he can do. Shame on us if we don't take advantage."

The Mets have been forced to run down the outfield depth chart after putting Travis Jankowski on the IL last week with a fractured bone in his hand.

Plummer was called up from Triple-A on Saturday after hitting .250/.313/.511 in 24 games with Syracuse. A 2015 first-round pick by the Cardinals, Plummer had six homers, 21 RBI and two steals with Syracuse this year.

The Mets added help from outside the organization on Sunday by acquiring infielder/outfielder JT Riddle from Cincinnati for cash considerations. Riddle was assigned to Triple-A.

Sean Farrell is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app. 

Email: farrells@northjersey.com 

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Jeff McNeil dealing with some leg 'wear and tear'