PORT SANTOS, Fla. (AP) — New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, outfielder Luis Robert Jr. and infielders Jorge Polanco and Brett Batty will not play earlier this spring, manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday.
Mendoza said Batty felt something in his right hamstring a few weeks ago, so they will slowly bring him back this spring. Batty hit 18 homers and 50 RBIs in 130 games last season, batting .254.
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Robert will also be taking his training slowly, with coaches doing some strengthening exercises in the hope that he can avoid the lower-body injuries he has suffered in the past. The 28-year-old was traded to the Mets from the Chicago White Sox and is in his first season with the Mets. Robert hit .223 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs in 110 games for Chicago last year before being sidelined with a hamstring strain in late August.
As a precautionary measure, both Polanco and Alvarez will miss the game early. Mendoza said Polanco, who signed with the Mets as a free agent after spending the past two seasons with the Mariners, will hit live and work in the backfield before joining the game. Last year he hit 26 home runs and 76 RBIs for the Mariners, batting .265.
Alvarez was limited to 76 games last season due to various injuries, and the Mets took a cautious approach with him. He hit .256 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs before undergoing offseason surgery to repair ligaments in his right thumb.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
