NEW YORK -- Although Mets manager Luis Rojas prefers the concept of fluid lineups, he came into this season committed to a rather static first five of Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith -- in that order. Aside from routine days off, the idea was that the top five hitters wouldn’t often change.

Then came a hellacious early-season slump for Conforto, who personally left nine men on base last Wednesday in Philadelphia and stranded two more on third with fewer than two outs in Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Marlins. Conforto enterered Sunday’s play 3-for-21 with eight strikeouts and one double play, which was enough for Rojas to abandon his lineup plans just five games into the season.

For Game 6, Rojas dropped Conforto from third to sixth in the lineup, bumping Smith (third) and Jeff McNeil (fifth) ahead of him.

“He’s in that funk,” Rojas said. “He’s swinging through a lot of fastballs I’ve seen in the zone. He’s just got to get to that feel. I think every hitter goes through this. He’s gone through this in the past. He’ll simplify things. We’ll see the Conforto that we know, soon.”

Last year, Conforto thrived as a top-of-the-order bat, hitting lower than cleanup just nine times in 60 games. It was enough for Rojas to consider him the Mets’ regular No. 3 hitter heading into this season, despite Smith’s statistically superior 2020 season and McNeil’s status as the Mets’ best hitter for average.

Underscoring Conforto’s slump is the fact that he has continually found himself in run-producing spots with little to show for it. Conforto said last week that “it’s much easier to feel good about a game when you’re 0-for-4 but you put a ball in play to bring in a run, or a sacrifice fly, or you did something to help the team win.”

Those are the types of things Conforto simply has not done early this season, prompting Rojas to make a rather dramatic early lineup change.

“He’s a fantastic hitter, and there’s a reason why he [was] hitting three-hole in our lineup: He’s done it year in and year out,” Nimmo said. “He is an amazing hitter, and so I have the utmost confidence in him that he’s going to find his way out of it.”

Mum’s the word
Through a Mets spokesman, reliever Dellin Betances declined comment on the right shoulder impingement that landed him on the 10-day injured list last Thursday. Team officials have offered uncertainty regarding the status of Betances, who posted a 7.71 ERA in Spring Training and allowed one run in his only outing this season amidst significant velocity loss.

Betances is due $6 million this season, with a $1 million player option on his contract for 2022. The Mets have no timetable for his return.

From the trainer’s room
Third baseman J.D. Davis, who landed on the IL on Saturday with a bruised left hand, said he hasn’t been able to take full swings or grip a bat without discomfort, but he has been weightlifting and taking ground balls as he rehabs from the injury. Davis was unsure if he’ll be able to return next Saturday when eligible. Even if he misses that target date, his absence shouldn’t linger much beyond it.

“The goal is to never go on the IL or anything like that,” Davis said. “Now it’s just a waiting game with the swelling.”