QUEENS, N.Y. — New York Mets manager JD Martinez does not anticipate having JD Martinez in his lineup for their upcoming series against the Reds in Cincinnati. He also is not 100% sure if the veteran designated hitter will be ready to make his team debut in the following series down in Atlanta against the Braves.
“Everything is on the table,” Mendoza said Thursday before his team’s doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. “We could see him at some point during that series. There’s a chance we won’t see him… We have to take it day by day and see how he responds after he starts playing real games in the minor leagues.”
Those minor-league games are on the immediate horizon, as soon as Friday, though it remains unclear whether he will be assigned to Triple-A Syracuse, Double-A Binghamton, or Single-A Port St. Lucie.
“We’re getting close,” Mendoza said. “We have to make a decision because he’s getting close to joining one of our affiliates in the minor leagues… That could come as soon as tomorrow so we still have to talk to him and go from there.
“I don’t anticipate [a debut on] Sunday, which is his first day when he’s eligible to come up, so hopefully, it’s Atlanta. But, again, it’s still fluid. The biggest thing is we have to get him to join one of our affiliates… We want to do what’s best for JD and for the team. Health is important here and making sure that we’re not rushing and not putting a guy like JD at risk.”
The 36-year-old Martinez has spent the last two weeks in Florida ramping up in an abbreviated spring training after signing a one-year, $12 million deal to join the Mets. He began playing simulated games this week and on Monday, Mendoza originally hinted that the 2018 World Series winner could join the club in Cincinnati over the weekend.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things, but at the end of the day, as long as he’s getting at-bats and running the bases, it’s more like a real game now,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to have a strong opinion on this. He knows himself better than anybody else. His routine and how detail-oriented he is and the feel for his swings and mechanics and things like that. We will consider those things and we’ll go from there. He’s getting a lot of at-bats, he’s feeling good, now we have to take it to the next step.
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