Call to the pen
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New York Mets being hamstrung by injuries

By David Hill

May 16, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Mets right fielder Michael Conforto (30) leaves the game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning with an injury at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Mets right fielder Michael Conforto (30) leaves the game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning with an injury at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Mets have had to battle the injury bug this season. With the likes of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, J.D. Davis, Brandon Nimmo, and several others on the Injured List, the Mets’ current position atop the NL East is somewhat miraculous. However, one has to wonder how many more injuries they can withstand.

We may get that answer shortly. The Mets were once again bitten by the injury bug on Sunday, as both Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto left their game against the Rays due to hamstring injuries.

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The Mets have just one bench player left – backup catcher Tomas Nido. Any further injuries during the game could lead to some interesting defensive alignments for the Mets as they look to escape Tampa Bay with some semblance of an intact roster.

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At this point, there is no indication if either Conforto or McNeil will miss significant time. These are, however, two major blows to the lineup. The Mets have already struggled to score this season, as their 118 runs ranks dead last in the National League. Although Conforto and McNeil have disappointed this year, they do rank as the Mets’ second and third best hitters amongst their regulars in terms of OPS+.

These injuries also potentially open up an even larger hole on the roster. Several key backups are injured as well, as the Mets have been playing with a thin bench. Should either, or both, need to miss time, the bench and the bottom of the lineup could resemble a Triple-A squad more than a team with postseason aspirations.

The Mets were starting to get healthy. Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco were getting closer to making rehab appearances, and Seth Lugo was already starting to ramp back up. The hope was that deGrom would just miss one start. However, the Mets need their lineup to get healthy as well, and losing Conforto and/or McNeil for any length of time would certainly hurt their hopes for this season.

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The New York Mets have been hamstrung by injuries this season. They lost two more key pieces on Sunday when Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil left the game.

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