New York Mets manager Luis Rojas announced on Wednesday morning that center fielder Albert Almora was placed on the 10-day injured list after his collision with the center-field wall during Tuesday night’s victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Mets escaped a similar fate with Jeff McNeil, who left in the third inning after trying to stretch a single to a double. His ailment was described as a leg cramp, but Rojas said he was available for Wednesday’s game against Baltimore.
“McNeil is better,” Rojas said. “He’s okay and will be available for us off the bench. He did some tests today and he just came in. Went to the training room, got some treatment.”
Almora is suffering from a shoulder contusion after ran down a deep fly ball in the right-centerfield gap, running full speed into the wall in which the collision coaxed the ball out of his glove. He remained down on the warning track for a few minutes before walking off under his own power.
“Right after the collision, he was talking, moving,” Rojas said. “But after the game, you could see that he was holding his left shoulder a little bit. He just looked very tight, holding that area, tentative to move. Today, he’s walking slow, his knee is also bothering him because he hit the wall. That knee is a little bit swollen, too.
“He didn’t want to come out of the game. He was hot, he was amped up, that’s just how he plays — one speed. Today, he was willing to get looked at and get some work done. There’s nothing to do there, you just want to see what he can do so he can get better. He’s a strong kid, he’s very smart, so at this point, he knows that he needs the time to heal.”
The Mets recalled their No. 7 prospect, Khalil Lee, to fill the roster spot left open by Almora’s trip to the IL. The 22-year-old was acquired this offseason in a deal with the Kansas City Royals.
