New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes exited Wednesday's game against the Kansas City Royals in the sixth inning with a wrist injury. It is unclear when he will return to action.
Continue for updates.
Cespedes Suffers Wrist Injury
Wednesday, June 22
According to James Wagner of the New York Times, the Mets characterized Cespedes' ailment as "left wrist discomfort."
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported that Cespedes will rejoin the Mets in Atlanta on Thursday after being evaluated by the team's orthopedist. Rich Coutinho of 98.7 ESPN reported Cespedes received a cortisone shot.
Cespedes has proved fairly durable, playing more than 150 games in each of the last two seasons, but he dealt with hip soreness earlier in the year before this latest physical setback.
Thus far, he has a .284 batting average with 18 home runs and 44 RBI in 2016.
When healthy, Cespedes anchors the New York lineup. He hit .291 with 35 homers and 105 RBI in 2015, which marked the second straight year he reached the 100-RBI plateau. The 2014 All-Star helped the Mets reach the World Series with his powerful bat but is also a solid fielder.
He won the 2015 Gold Glove and was responsible for 11 total defensive runs saved above average in the outfield that year, per FanGraphs.
The Mets will likely turn toward Alejandro De Aza if the injury forces Cespedes to miss significant time. De Aza is a veteran presence who has been in the league since 2007 and is versatile enough to play all over the outfield, but he lacks the power Cespedes brings to the table.
While New York at least has options in the outfield behind Cespedes, it needs its slugger back in the lineup if it hopes to keep pace in the National League playoff race.
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