NEW YORK -- The crack of Josh Donaldson’s bat was violent enough for Donaldson to stick around near home plate, concerned for Mets catcher Tomas Nido’s health. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman also wandered over as a pair of Mets trainers checked on Nido.

Hours later, Mets manager Mickey Callaway said the team was still unsure of Nido’s health following the Donaldson backswing that struck the catcher’s helmet, forcing him to exit the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Braves in the sixth inning.

“I don’t think it’s concussion protocol at this moment,” Callaway said late Friday. “But that’s why we’ll evaluate him in the morning and keep on checking him overnight.”

Making a rare start behind the plate, Nido fell to the ground after Donaldson’s backswing struck him squarely on the helmet. After a conversation with multiple members of the Mets’ training staff, Nido remained in the game through the end of the half-inning. He did not bat in the bottom of the sixth and when the Mets came back on the field for the seventh, Nido was not among them.

“He got hit hard,” said pitcher Jacob deGrom, who had one of the clearest views of the incident. “Just seeing how hard he got hit, I wasn’t really sure what to do. I just tried to ask him if he was OK and he was obviously in some pain.”

deGrom added that “once [Nido] got up, he seemed like he was fine,” but Callaway said the catcher’s condition worsened by the time he returned to the dugout between innings. Wilson Ramos, who had started 13 of the Mets’ previous 15 games, took over behind the plate at that point. Nido was unavailable late Friday to discuss his status.

At the least, the Mets are taking precautions. Almost immediately after Donaldson’s at-bat, the Triple-A Syracuse Mets removed veteran catcher Rene Rivera from their game, seemingly as a hedge against Nido missing time.

Known mostly for his defense, Nido was batting .207 with three home runs in 39 games. The Mets plan to reevaluate him on Saturday morning.