He may deny it at times, but it’s clear for more than a month, Michael Cuddyer has been bothered by pain caused by a bone bruise in his left knee.
He has said himself the injury will not go away unless he gets extended rest – less than two weeks with no baseball activity hardly qualifies as extended rest.
That pain caused him to be shutdown for a couple of weeks in an effort to rest his ailing knee and allow some of the pain to subside.
He was activated from the disabled list ahead of Monday’s game against the Rockies, but he watched from the sidelines in what very well might be his new role with the 2015 Mets: a part-time player.
But that is ok with Cuddyer, because the item at the top of his list is not personal accolades or his own stats.
He just wants to win with the Mets, and play whatever role he feels will help accomplish that goal.
“He just wants to help,” manager Terry Collins said last week. “He wants us to win and wherever I’m going to play him or need him, I think he will do that, but we’re going to get him back in there.”
And help he did on Tuesday night against the Rockies in his first game back.
The game started off slowly for Cuddyer, as he went 0-for-2 in his first two at-bats after going 0-for-7 in two games during his major league rehab assignment with Single-A St. Lucie.
But he got going with a sixth inning single into left field, and came around to score the game’s first run on an RBI single from Ruben Tejada.
Then in the eighth inning, with his gimpy knee and all, Cuddyer helped manufacture a run when he grounded a one out single to right field, stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Nick Hundley.
Yes, with his bad knee, Cuddyer’s grittiness took over to help create a run scoring opportunity.
The strategy paid off when Cuddyer scored on a bases loaded walk to Curtis Granderson.
“There are pros, guys who appreciate the game and do the things that I think you’re supposed to do,” Collins explained after Tuesday’s game. “People who have been in the game for years believe the game has to be played a certain way, act a certain way in the clubhouse, on the field. Michael Cuddyer fits in that category. When he gets on base, his knee doesn’t hurt. It might hurt him, but when he’s in action, it doesn’t hurt him.”
Cuddyer insists he knee felt fine on Tuesday, although it appeared at times he was favoring it during the game.
“Just off the DL, you pick your spots,” the veteran explained. “It felt good to be back out there, the knee felt fine. It felt nice to be able to contribute on the field, rather than as a cheerleader the past couple weeks.”
It’s still not clear how Cuddyer is going to fit into the puzzle on a regular basis. He played right field on Tuesday to spell Granderson against left-hander Chris Rusin, and that could be a regular routine considering Granderson is hitting just .159 against left-handed pitching in 2015.
But he’s also capable of spelling Michael Conforto in left field against tough left-handed pitching, as well as possibly Lucas Duda.
In other words, he can serve in a similar capacity as Kelly Johnson in a super-utility role, where there are plenty of at-bats to be had.
For Collins, it’s the beauty of having so much depth and versatility on the roster.
Whatever happens, Cuddyer still insists he doesn’t care what role he is in here, provided the first objective is reached.
“I said since the first day coming here, I just want to win,” Cuddyer said again on Tuesday. “How, that’s not the issue. I want to win.”
Just Mets 