PHOENIX -- The Mets will be without Jesse Winker, the left-handed side of their designated hitter platoon, for six to eight weeks after placing him on the injured list Monday with a right oblique strain. He sustained the injury Sunday during a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals.
Starting in the outfield for the first time this season in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium, Winker received just one defensive chance, when Nolan Gorman hit a sacrifice fly to shallow left. In an attempt to cut down the runner at home, Winker put his full force behind the throw and immediately felt a twinge in his right side.
"I felt it pretty much right when I threw the ball,” Winker said during a clipped postgame interview. “I’m going to wait till those tests and figure it out from there.”
After an initial MRI exam Sunday in St. Louis, the team opted to send him to New York for further testing rather than bring him on the flight to Phoenix. The follow-up tests revealed the strain, and the Mets made the move ahead of their series opener against the D-backs at Chase Field.
"We didn’t get good news,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s looking at a Grade 2 oblique strain, and they’re telling us it’s probably six to eight weeks before he’s a player for us at the big league level. Obliques are tricky, but we’ll figure it out.”
Left-handed-hitting infielder Brett Baty was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take Winker’s roster spot, but it won’t be as simple as just plugging Baty into the at-bats Winker was getting. Mendoza said the Mets will likely use the addition of another flexible defender like Baty as a way to roll out some different lineups while rotating players through the DH spot as a way to get them off their feet a little while keeping their bat in the lineup.
"We’ll see how it goes. It’ll be fluid,” Mendoza said.
Starling Marte, who has been serving as Winker’s platoon partner at DH, will now see more at-bats against righty starters, like he did Monday vs. the D-backs’ Ryne Nelson. But the DH spot will likely see a lot of names in the coming weeks.
Baty, who can play second and third base, gives Mendoza yet another player who can fill multiple spots.
"He allows me to rotate that DH a little more,” Mendoza said. “Obviously Marte will get some more playing time here, but with Jeff [McNeil’s] ability to play multiple positions, and Brett in the infield, there’s a lot of different ways I can go there.”
Baty hasn't played for Syracuse since April 30 because of a sore right big toe, but Mendoza said the club was confident the 25-year-old was arriving with no restrictions and he was looking forward to adding him to the mix.
"[Baty’s versatility] definitely helps, especially after we saw what he’s capable of doing at second base defensively and his lefty bat,” Mendoza said. “And then on top of that, you got Jeff’s versatility so he allows me to move people around, not only when I’m making a lineup, but when you’re making game moves.”
One player not expected to see time at DH is Juan Soto.
"The goal with him is to keep him in right field,” Mendoza said.
Asked why, the manager had a simple answer.
“Because he’s a right fielder,” he quipped.