Michael Conforto’s Mets return appears imminent.
The right fielder was initially expected to be activated off the injured list Tuesday in time for the Mets’ game against the Braves, according to acting general manager Zack Scott, though the team ended up holding off on making the roster move before first pitch.
Conforto has been on the injured list for five weeks with right hamstring strain — it’s possible the Mets did not want him to return on a slick field after a rainy day at Citi Field — but played in three rehab games with Triple-A Syracuse.
“He’s actually exceeded our expectations, hit all of our objective markers on his strength, his hamstring,” Scott said before the game. “He’s ready to go.”
The Mets did not immediately provide a reason for Conforto not being activated Tuesday, though Scott had said they would be watching the forecast.
“We’ll see how the rest of the forecast goes,” Scott said. “There’s no concerns about him health wise right now. We wouldn’t activate him if there were. It shouldn’t be any different. He’s testing at really high strength and we’ve pushed him several times that we’ve really stress-tested it and we feel really good about it.”
Conforto’s arrival would be the Mets’ latest from an injured starting position player, after Jeff McNeil came back from his own hamstring strain Monday. McNeil played in five rehab games before being activated, but Scott said Conforto’s return was expedited by him passing all of his necessary tests.
“Some guys, you can push them to max sooner,” Scott said. “Other guys, we want to do it where we have a program. We want to progress them to hit the certain levels of intensity before they’re cleared to play. Michael just happened to hit them sooner [than McNeil].”
Before he hit the IL, Conforto was batting .230 with two home runs and a 97 OPS-plus in 33 games. His absence, along with center fielder Brandon Nimmo (plus a stretch without Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora Jr.), left the Mets outfield depth depleted last month.
Manager Luis Rojas said the Mets would be smart about easing Conforto back into the lineup.
“There is a plan,” Rojas said. “We have our performance staff talk to us and also talking to Michael, laying out what we’re expecting. We just don’t want to throw him in there and probably run him into immediate high workload, coming from a hamstring injury. He’s good, he’s in great shape. But we also don’t want to abuse him.”
