Notes: Bus ride to Boston; Núñez injured

July 27th, 2020

NEW YORK -- Under normal circumstances, the Mets would have flown to Boston for their upcoming two-game set at Fenway Park. In the COVID-19 world, they are taking buses -- six in total, with a maximum of 10 people allowed on board each.

The downside for the Mets is a longer trip to New England. The upside? Plenty of space for their PlayStations and Xboxes.

Because players are discouraged from dining out, grabbing drinks on the road or even leaving their hotel rooms more than necessary, the Mets will use their down time to continue the “Call of Duty” games they’ve been playing all year. Among those who partake are Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Amed Rosario, J.D. Davis, Justin Wilson and René Rivera.

“Nimmo didn’t really play a lot of video games [growing up], but he’s strategic calling out the plan,” Conforto said. “He’s just super smart. Nimmo’s smart, so I like to just follow him around and do whatever he tells me to do.”

Last year after most road games, a group of Mets gathered together in one of their hotel rooms, ordered in cookies, and spent hours bonding over baseball and life. They plan to avoid such in-person gatherings this year, but hope to spend similar virtual time together.

Realistically, Conforto said, Mets players will still leave the hotel to grab a coffee or a bite to eat in the morning. They know when they do so, they must use sound judgment.

“I think the biggest thing is we wear our masks,” Conforto said. “We bring our hand sanitizer. We do all the things that we know work. We’ve been practicing it here. You just continue to practice the same behaviors that you’ve been practicing here -- keeping your distance from people, being conscious of what you’re doing and where you’re going. Just taking the measures to be careful.”

Once the Mets arrive in Boston, they won’t have the option to report to Fenway Park early for extra work, though they’re confident they can still do everything necessary to prepare for a game. Rather than cram into the visiting clubhouse, training room, weight room and other areas, they plan to utilize space on the concourse to complete their pregame exercises.

“Our plan is to maintain distancing in there, to follow the protocols and everything that we need to do in order to travel and meet those guidelines,” manager Luis Rojas said, “and everyone to get there safe and healthy.”

From the trainer’s room
• Shortly after entering Sunday’s game, stumbled across first base as he beat out an infield hit in the eighth inning. Núñez flipped onto his back, where he remained a minute or two as trainer Brian Chicklo examined him on the field.

Núñez believed he hyperextended his knee on the play, but he felt well enough to lobby both Chicklo and Rojas to let him stay in the game. They instead removed Núñez, with plans to have him examined more thoroughly on Monday.

Should Núñez miss any time, the Mets' bench is well-stocked with infield depth. Like Núñez, Luis Guillorme and Andrés Giménez are capable of playing second base, third base and shortstop.

• Reliever was scheduled to throw live batting practice Sunday for the first time this month, after missing all of Summer Camp for an undisclosed reason. While the Mets have not provided a timeline for Hughes to make his Mets debut, the fact that he is throwing live BP means he could be less than a week away from joining the team.

Outlook unclear
The Mets still have not named a starting pitcher for their fifth game of the season Tuesday in Boston, and Rojas indicated he may not make a decision until that morning.

The most obvious candidate to start in place of injured starter Marcus Stroman was , but he was needed for four innings of relief Sunday night against the Braves. Following the game, the Mets optioned Oswalt to their alternate training site in Brooklyn, with plans to make a corresponding move on Monday.

The Mets could throw a bullpen game or turn to a pitcher not currently on the 30-man roster, such as or . The team has no plans to bring Jacob deGrom back on short rest after he threw just 72 pitches on Opening Day.

The Mets also intend to wait until after Sunday’s game before finalizing their first three-man taxi squad of the season. That group will travel separately to Boston.