The Mets’ injured list looks an awful lot like an Opening Day lineup card now that it is complete with a slugging clean-up hitter.
Pete Alonso (right hand sprain) became the latest addition to the missing-in-action on Friday when he was put on the 10-day IL with a right hand sprain after undergoing an MRI exam. The move is retroactive to May 19, but Alonso first was injured when he was hit in the palm by a pitch May 5 at St. Louis.
“Since I got hit a little bit more than two weeks ago, I haven’t felt normal, I haven’t felt like myself,” Alonso said. “I’m at the point right now where if I want this thing to completely go away and get better, I’m going to need to give it some rest and listen to my body. If I keep continuously going out there with just a version of myself, it’s not going to help the team in the long run.”
Alonso credited the Mets’ trainers with helping him manage the pain through various treatments to eliminate swelling. He was 5-for-38 with just three RBIs over 11 games since he first was injured. The pain only bothered him on contact, not in the field.
“I’m going to keep my body and my mind fresh for when I’m good,” Alonso said. “When my hand is nice and ready, I’ll be able to impact this team — and look out.”
Six of the eight position players from the Mets’ first lineup of the season are now on the IL. Alonso joined outfielders Michael Conforto, Kevin Pillar and Brandon Nimmo, as well as second baseman Jeff McNeil and third baseman J.D. Davis. Jacob deGrom headlines the injured pitchers, who added another Friday when Tommy Hunter (back) was added to the IL.
“You never think it’s going to be that many [injuries],” manager Luis Rojas said. “More than three guys from a position-player standpoint? You don’t think of it that way. It’s abnormal, but depth is helping us. Crazy things are happening to us with the number of guys who are down right now.”
The Mets called up veteran Brandon Drury — who hit .184 in 21 games for the Blue Jays last season — from Triple-A to start at first base against the Marlins on Friday. Drury has played just 15 of his 456 career MLB games at first base. Dom Smith remained in left field.
“[Drury has] played there before, so it won’t be a new position for him,” Rojas said. “We have people working with him on the ground ball and around the bag. We can see him probably spending some time there when he meets the team, potentially next week.”
In an all-hands-on-deck situation, catchers James McCann and Patrick Mazeika and outfielder Jake Hager are options at first base, especially for double-switch flexibility.
“I talked to the guys and everyone was like, ‘You have to do what you have to do. We need you healthy for as many games as possible,’ ” Alonso said. “Everyone has told me they respect the hell out of me for going out there every single day and doing the best I can. I gave it my all.”
The cruel irony is Alonso, who has broken his left hand three times in his career, tried to play through “a very high tolerance for pain” to help the shorthanded Mets stay afloat earlier this month. And now he is out when the injury situation is at its worst.
“Hindsight is 20/20,” Alonso said. “It is tough with how many guys are down. There are a lot of what-ifs.”
The eager Alonso already has taken a peek ahead on the schedule to cite the Mets’ opponent (the Braves) and first-pitch time (7:15 p.m.) when he will be first eligible to return, May 29. Is that realistic?
“That’s my goal, that’s my hope,” Alonso said. “But I have to listen to my body. I have to understand that if I rush it a day or two, that could take away a couple days.”