The Mets’ tumultuous 2026 season has continued as the calendar flips to June. The Amazin’s most recently posted a three-game sweep of the Marlins on an overall four-game win streak, but that only came after a string of five straight losses.
That has the club still 13 1/2 games back of the NL East lead but relatively in striking distance of a Wild Card spot at 5 1/2 games back. It certainly seems like the roller coaster isn’t going to slow anytime soon, but there is better news on the horizon, with the likes of Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez and Kodai Senga all appearing closer to returns from injury.
There’s another key piece to keep an eye on, too. Jorge Polanco is now three games into his rehab assignment with Double-A Binghamton while attempting to return from left achilles bursitis, which landed him on the IL on April 18. He had additionally been dealing with a right wrist contusion.
Polanco cleared two key hurdles over the weekend. He played in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday for the first time, and he played first base for the first time on Saturday. To add a cherry on top, he homered in Friday’s 5-4 win over Portland.
In all, Polanco has gone 2-for-5 with the homer, two walks and a trio of strikeouts. However, he’s yet to play a full game, being replaced in the fourth inning on Wednesday, the seventh on Friday and the fourth on Saturday.
Polanco seems to be trending in the right direction, but there may be a long way to go for him before rejoining the big league roster. He will likely have to play through pain for the entire season, though he is not currently at increased risk of an achilles tear.
“It’s to a point where he’s not going to be 100 percent,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But as he went through the intensity [of baseball activities], the running the bases and the sprinting and all that, the next day, it’s like, ‘Hey, it’s not getting any worse. I feel better.’ The biggest thing was that it wasn’t getting any worse, and he was able to manage it and was like, ‘I’m good to go now.’”
Signed to a two-year, $40 million deal to replace Pete Alonso at first base, Polanco may be starting his way back to the Majors.
We’ll see whether the Mets can stay close enough to the Postseason picture in the meantime, and -- later -- whether Polanco can provide needed a spark. He was hitting just .179 with one home run through his first 14 games this season.