NEW YORK — With a 2-1, 14-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field on Monday night, the New York Mets extended their winning streak to three games. However, the injury-ravaged Mets got their best news of the day many hours earlier, when third baseman David Wright resumed baseball activities and catcher Travis d’Arnaud was cleared to begin swinging a bat.
Wright strained his right hamstring April 14, and his recovery was slowed in early May when the Mets announced he also was dealing with lower back pain. General manager Sandy Alderson said Wright is not yet hitting and that a potential timeline for his return to the Mets won’t be established until he gets in the batter’s box.
“Today is the first day he was actually back on the field for any amount of work,” Alderson said during a visit to a veterans hospital Monday afternoon. “Until he’s back cleared for all baseball activity, it’s hard to put a schedule together.”
D’Arnaud broke his right pinkie finger when he was hit by a pitch April 19. He took dry swings Monday and is expected to ramp up his activity during the week.
While d’Arnaud is now participating in all baseball activities, Alderson said the 26-year-old won’t be activated until he proves he can handle the rigors of catching.
“It’s not just about swings,” Alderson said. “It’s about stamina, being able to crouch back there for nine innings.”
Wright and d’Arnaud were both hurt during the Mets’ team-record-tying 11-game winning streak. New York leads the majors with 13 players on the disabled list, a big reason why the Mets are just 10-13 in their last 23 games.
Even so, Alderson said Monday that he is not looking to use the injuries as an excuse.
“Nobody cares if your players are on the DL or not,” Alderson said. “They just care about the win-loss record.”