Conforto begins rehab assignment early

NEW YORK -- The Mets’ months-long march toward full health advanced significantly on Wednesday, when outfielder Michael Conforto began a Minor League rehab assignment several days ahead of schedule.

Conforto was slated to play five innings and take two plate appearances for Triple-A Syracuse. Initially, Mets officials had hoped that Conforto, who is rehabbing from a right hamstring strain, might be able to begin a rehab assignment by this weekend. But he passed all the required benchmarks without issue, most recently running the bases at full speed for three straight days.

“If everything goes by the book like we expect,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said, “then he might join us next week.”

Conforto was one of the Mets’ top hitters in 2020, batting .322/.412/.515 with nine home runs in 54 games. But he struggled early this year, slashing .230/.356/.336 with two homers in 33 games before straining his hamstring on May 16. Conforto has been rehabbing ever since.

At Syracuse, Conforto joined second baseman Jeff McNeil, who strained his left hamstring on the same day. McNeil began his own rehab assignment on Sunday, putting him on track to return this weekend in Washington.

Full house
The Mets will eliminate all remaining capacity restrictions at Citi Field in time for their next homestand, which begins Monday with a single-admission doubleheader against the Braves. Starting that day, the Mets will cease maintaining socially distanced sections for non-vaccinated fans, effectively lifting Citi’s total capacity from 33,875 to 41,800.

In addition, current social distancing and mask requirements at Citi Field will be eliminated (except for unvaccinated fans, who still must wear masks). Fans will not need to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter the stadium.

Although the previous increase to 33,875 fans resulted in a significant attendance spike, the Mets have not yet come close to playing in front of a full house. Their largest crowd to date was 26,637 for Jacob deGrom’s last start on Friday.

To incentivize ticket sales, the Mets are offering a 25 percent discount on all remaining home games (except the Sept. 10-12 Subway Series) for fans who use the checkout code “DAD” when buying tickets at Mets.com/FathersDay. Given increased capacity, the team is also encouraging all fans to take mass transit to the ballpark.

No good, very bad day
Reliever Dellin Betances, who had pitched a scoreless inning in his first Minor League rehab appearance last weekend, blew up for five runs Wednesday in his second outing for Low-A St. Lucie. Betances allowed three hits and two walks, recording just one out.

Regardless, Rojas said team officials remain unconcerned as Betances tries to work his way back from a right shoulder impingement.

“We were not looking at the performance part from giving up runs or not being able to finish an inning right now,” Rojas said. “We just want to see his [velocity] reads. We want to see if his arm was in the correct slot, if he was consistently hitting the release point that we want, and obviously how he feels after the outing. So I think all those are good, are where we want them, and that’s it. We’re looking forward to his next outing down there.”

Pitching plans
David Peterson is lined up to pitch one half of the Mets’ doubleheader in Washington on Saturday, but the team hasn’t yet determined who will start the other seven-inning game. That will depend on the Mets’ bullpen usage over the next few days.

Reliever Sean Reid-Foley was a prime candidate, but the Mets used him for two innings in relief of deGrom in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Cubs. He could still pitch Saturday, but isn't likely to go deep into the game. Another candidate is Robert Gsellman, whom the Mets have used sparingly in recent days. Or, if Reid-Foley's appearance prompts the Mets to call up a true starter for Saturday, the most likely candidate is veteran Jerad Eickhoff, who would need to be added to the 40-man roster.