NEW YORK — In the biggest plate appearance of their 7-6 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday night, the Mets had their No. 4 hitter at the plate. It wasn’t Pete Alonso.
Facing Clay Holmes with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Francisco Lindor — bumped down one spot in the order in Alonso’s absence — struck out. Holmes escaped trouble and preserved the eventual final margin of victory for the Yankees, and the Mets were left to ponder what could have been.
Advertisement
Instead of lining up against the crosstown rivals, Alonso was out on the field in Queens early on Tuesday, taking groundballs at first base. He’s on the injured list for just the second time in his career with a bone bruise and sprain of his left wrist. While Alonso declined comment on his work, manager Buck Showalter said the first baseman is “progressing well.”
“Let’s get through this week and see where he is,” Showalter said before the game. “We’re happy with how it’s progressing compared to how it could be progressing.”
Pete Alonso got some pregame work in on the field earlier today: pic.twitter.com/4DhSoq09eH
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 13, 2023
Alonso is eligible to return from the injured list as soon as Sunday. The Mets pegged his initial timeline at three to four weeks, which would mean around the end of the month or the west-coast trip in early July.
According to Dr. David Hay, an orthopedic hand and wrist surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, Alonso’s return will depend on how he manages the pain in his wrist.
A bone bruise occurs when the internal honeycomb-like structure of a bone — technically, the cancellous bone — is damaged. Hay, who has not treated or evaluated Alonso, described it like Styrofoam inside a PVC pipe or soda bottle: The initial traumatic impact — in this case, a baseball thrown at high velocity — can injure the internal structure while the harder, exterior portion of the bone temporarily deforms without breaking.
“It is loaded up to, but just short of, the breaking point but doesn’t break,” Hay said. “The external bone hasn’t cracked; it’s essentially stable and structurally sound. You have the pain of that internal injury, so it’s just waiting for that pain to go away.”
So in Alonso’s case, his return should largely be a pain-management issue. The Mets’ initial timetable on Alonso of three to four weeks suggests a milder bone bruise, Hay said. More severe bone bruises can take more than two months to heal.
Advertisement
Alonso does have experience returning to play from hand injuries: He’s broken his right hand three different times. In one of those instances, he came back within three weeks to play for the University of Florida in his final season. Alonso has always spoken with pride about coming back in time for the College World Series, where he smashed four home runs in his final days as a Gator.
That experience should help him this time around, as well.
“I would think it would help. He’s comfortable with the nature of the pain and he’s psychologically comfortable with that arc of a recovery,” Hay said. “He’s well-trained with that graded return without flaring it up.”
José Quintana started his rehab assignment with Single-A St. Lucie on Tuesday night. The left-hander, who has been out since the middle of spring training, tossed 26 pitches over 1 1/3 innings. He allowed two hits and walked one.
The Mets have compared Quintana’s rehab to “a second spring training,” so it would make sense for them to build him up with one extra inning in each appearance. Showalter said the Mets would want Quintana stretched out to five-plus innings before activating him.
If things go according to plan, Quintana then could return just before or just after the All-Star break. His 30-day rehab clock would expire on July 12 — one day after the All-Star Game.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
