Cano sent for MRI on tight left quad

Second baseman sustains injury running out grounder

May 23rd, 2019

NEW YORK -- Already playing without several injured members of their regular starting lineup, the Mets suffered another loss on Wednesday night, when departed after three innings due to a tight left quad. As he ran down the first-base line on an inning-ending groundout, he visibly grimaced.

Moments later, Adeiny Hechavarria replaced him at second base, and Cano departed Citi Field for an MRI. The Mets were awaiting word on those results following their 6-1 win.

“He took a few hard steps out of the box, got about halfway down the line and it grabbed on him,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “He kind of shut it down and coasted in after that.”

Approximately 100 miles to the west, the Syracuse Mets pulled Luis Guillorme out of their game in Lehigh Valley, preparing him to come to New York should Cano land on the injured list. The Mets hope to have an answer to that question by Thursday morning.

Cano was batting .241 with three home runs in 45 games, starting nearly every day at second. In his absence, both Hechavarria and Jeff McNeil are capable of starting at that position, though the latter is also needed in the outfield. McNeil was out of Wednesday’s lineup due to a sore left hamstring, joining fellow starting outfielders Brandon Nimmo (neck stiffness) and Michael Conforto (concussion), who are on the injured list.

Callaway did not dismiss the notion that Cano, who apologized to his teammates for a lack of hustle last weekend in Miami, may have heightened his risk for injury sprinting harder than normal out of the box. In Monday’s win over the Nationals, Cano logged his fastest home-to-second time in three years, according to Statcast data.

“I’m sure he was aware that he needs to get going a little bit,” Callaway said.