CHICAGO -- Jorge Polanco, who has been dealing with injuries since the beginning of the regular season, was finally placed on the injured list ahead of Saturday’s game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The designated hitter/infielder had been playing through left Achilles bursitis since March, but after right wrist soreness popped up following Tuesday’s game against the Dodgers, the Mets officially put Polanco on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist contusion, retroactive to Wednesday. Catcher Hayden Senger was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.
The wrist injury developed during Polanco’s at-bats against Yoshinobu Yamamoto at Dodger Stadium, and did not improve as Polanco finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. After the off-day, he was kept out of the lineup for Friday’s opener against the Cubs as the club waited for MRI results.
“It’s like a bone bruise,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “When the doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t. So in talking to him, it was just a couple of swings he took that night off Yamamoto. He didn’t think much of it, but it just got worse the following day. You just got to let it calm down a little bit, and then we will go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
It’s the latest setback for a Mets team in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, the club’s longest since dropping 11 in a row in 2004. With Juan Soto and Jared Young also on the injured list, Polanco’s role in the heart of the order became heightened in the past few weeks.
But Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract this offseason, was slashing just .179/.246/.286 in his first 14 games.
“He was improving. He was getting to a good place,” Mendoza said. “He had good days, bad days, but he was trending in the right direction. It’s definitely going to help [Polanco heal], obviously now with him being shut down. The biggest thing now is that we got to take care of that wrist. But the foot, it shouldn’t be an issue now with the time down for him.”
The Mets need Polanco’s bat to return with the production they envisioned when adding the 32-year-old to their lineup, with the club batting just .202 and having been outscored 56-16 during its nine-game skid. With Francisco Lindor (.610 OPS), Bo Bichette (.565) and Marcus Semien (.565) also in the midst of uncharacteristic slumps, the top of the Mets’ order has been reworked.
Mendoza gave Carson Benge, New York’s No. 1 prospect, the nod at leadoff in Friday’s opener and kept the same 1-2-3 for Saturday’s matinee. Although Benge is batting just .158 with one homer (.466 OPS), the Mets have liked his approach at the plate. Until Soto or Young return, it is expected that Benge will get an extended look at the leadoff spot.
“He continues to have good at-bats,” Mendoza said. “[Friday] I thought he had a few good at-bats. Hit the ball hard, leading off the game. Had that single. But I think it just comes down to personnel. We just got to get some guys back healthy, back in the lineup, and then you start making those decisions. But in the meantime, I feel like leaving him there makes the most sense.”
As for adding Senger, the Mets wanted a third catcher on the roster to give the team added options for lineup construction and matchup-based at-bats. It also allows Francisco Alvarez to have a day or two at designated hitter to keep his bat (.959 OPS) in the lineup.
Senger, 29, hit .181 in 33 games in 2025 in his first Major League action. He has hit .257 with five homers in 12 games at Syracuse this season.
“[Senger] allows me to have Luis [Torrens] as a pinch-hitter in the middle innings, early in games,” Mendoza said. “If there’s a high-leverage at-bat there, and still having that third catcher, or if I want to give [Alvarez] a DH day and get Luis in there, just having that third guy for the next few days here made the most sense.”