Mets could have healthy Uribe, Cespedes for Game 1
Veteran might be activated, but will definitely be in clubhouse; outfielder improving
NEW YORK -- Juan Uribe might be ready to join the Mets' World Series roster, after all. And even if he's not, he'll still be present.
The Mets plan to bring Uribe, who has not played in a month due to a chest injury, with them to Kansas City for Game 1 on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET air time on FOX, 8 p.m. game time). There is a chance the team will activate Uribe, who fielded ground balls at third base and took live batting practice Saturday at Citi Field. But if the Mets are not confident in his health, they will still have Uribe with them in the clubhouse and dugout.
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"Because he's been to this dance before," manager Terry Collins said, "I think his presence in the clubhouse and on the bench would be huge."
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Uribe, who won World Series rings with the White Sox in 2005 and the Giants in '10, is the only active Mets player with World Series experience. But he has not played since aggravating the chest injury Sept. 25 in Cincinnati, and as a right-handed hitter he might not be as valuable to the Mets against a Royals pitching staff stocked with right-handers.
Also improving is outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who plans to take batting practice Sunday for the first time since injuring his left shoulder during the National League Championship Series. Though Cespedes has not done any baseball activities since leaving Game 4 in the second inning, he received a cortisone shot Thursday and expects to be ready.
"Compared to the first day, I feel a lot better," Cespedes said through an interpreter. "I thought I could probably do a little bit more today, but I didn't want to push myself. I wanted to give myself another day before I started doing stuff again."
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Continuing to dismiss golf as the culprit for his shoulder injury, Cespedes said he may have hurt himself doing pushups.
"I can't really pinpoint exactly what it is that happened," Cespedes said. "I can tell you I don't normally do pushups, but those two days [in Chicago], I was doing pushups because I didn't really have a gym to do other workouts in."