On Tuesday night, Michael Cuddyer exited the game with a sore left knee. He is out of the lineup and expected to miss just a few days, avoiding a trip to the disabled list for now, Terry Collins said on Wednesday.
Cuddyer underwent an MRI on Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery and received a cortisone injection in his left knee to help manage the pain.
Collins said Cuddyer could be available as soon as tomorrow, but didn’t suggest that was guaranteed to be the case.
Cuddyer is hitting .243/.297/.365 with six home runs and 28 RBI in 283 plate appearances with 18 walks, 67 strikeouts and having grounded into 12 double plays in 72 games this season. However, he has hit just .156/.194/.219 with four RBI, two walks and 14 strikeouts with five double plays in his last 19 games.
Even though he’s older and has struggled, he’s a much better player than what has been on display during the last month of baseball in particular. Perhaps this knee injury is something which has been ailing him and been prohibitive during that time. No matter what, maybe some time off to rest up and hit the reset button will do his game some good, especially as the Mets become entrenched in their toughest stretch of the season.
Hopefully he can get a healthier version of himself back on the field as quickly as possible and resemble the Cuddyer the club envisioned he would be when they inked him to a two-year deal last November. They need him right, especially now.
In the meantime, the Mets are once again playing a man short on their roster. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been terribly unusual for the club over much of the season.
John Mayberry Jr. is in left field on Wednesday and batting fifth.
Just Mets 