The New York Mets haven't had Jorge Polanco on the field in a while, and now he'll be rehabbing his left ankle.
The New York Mets signed Jorge Polanco to solidify their infield defense, but his season has instead turned into series of complicated injuries that have kept him off the field. Polanco is now on a long rehabilitation assignment for left Achilles bursitis that has him in Double-A, Binghamton as a designated hitter as of Wednesday.
Polanco made two plate appearances in his first game, and he singled and scored a run. This will be a lengthy rehabilitation assignment for him, but he could appear in back-to-back games as soon as this weekend. After that the Mets will work to build his stamina, according to a story by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
The infielder’s season has been full of fits and starts. He's been playing through left Achilles bursitis along with a wrist contusion, both of which have hindered him. Polanco has gotten multiple opinions from doctors, and he's learned that he'll likely be in pain for the rest of the season. He can play through it, however, if he’s able to handle the discomfort, and if he can do that he'll be able to avoid surgery.
Polanco has had good days and bad days, and the idea now is to have more good ones than bad ones. His percentage is getting better, but it's taking time.
“It’s to a point where he’s not going to be 100 percent,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But as he went through the intensity [of baseball activities], the running the bases and the sprinting and all that, the next day, it’s like, ‘Hey, it’s not getting any worse. I feel better.’ The biggest thing was that it wasn’t getting any worse, and he was able to manage it and was like, ‘I’m good to go now.’”
The good news is the Polanco is not at risk for an Achilles tear. You may have to undergo surgery for the bursitis, but right now that's the worst-case scenario.
At this point the Mets’ season is turning out to be a worst-case scenario. The Mets were hoping for something close to Polanco's production last year when he hit 26 homers and had a .821 OPS over 138 games for the Seattle Mariners last season.
This year his stats are nowhere near that because of the I'm going discomfort. Polanco has an OPS of just .532, and he's played in only 14 games so far. The Mets have mostly used Mark Vientos at first base and while Vientos has had defensive lapses, he's been mostly competent.
