PHILADELPHIA — Luis Robert Jr. could return to the Mets for their series in Milwaukee this week, leaving the team with more outfielders than starting spots.
“He’s looking better and better,” interim manager Andy Green said Saturday before the Mets lost to the Phillies.
The Mets traded for Robert last winter to serve as their starting center fielder, but during his time on the injured list with lumbar spine disc herniation, rookie A.J. Ewing has emerged as a bright spot, joining rookie Carson Benge and Juan Soto in the outfield.
Where does that leave Robert?
“All of them are going to play,” Green said. “That’s right for us from a matchup perspective. That’s right from a talent-level perspective when it comes to the two kids that we feel strongly about. It’s their first full professional season — taking a day off a week as we get into the dog days of [summer] isn’t going to hurt them, it will help them.
“We welcome really good baseball players back to the team and we’ll be excited to get [Robert’s] bat in the lineup, and he will get some days off as well.”
Green said the Mets are “compliant” with rules regarding the use of AI in the dugout to dictate game strategy.
The Post reported Friday that MLB issued a memo last month telling teams that use of such an app wouldn’t be permitted.
The Mets were among a handful of teams using such technology.
“Whatever the rules are, we remain fully compliant and Major League Baseball makes those determinations, and we go out and play a game,” Green said.
Clay Holmes threw 45 pitches in a simulated game because rain canceled his first minor league rehab start for Single-A Brooklyn.
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Holmes, who is returning from a fractured right fibula, will have to build up to five innings before he’s considered for a return to the Mets.
Eric Wagaman started at first base to give the Mets an extra right-handed bat in the lineup against lefty Jesús Luzardo.
Ideally, Jorge Polanco would be taking those at-bats, but the veteran switch-hitter still isn’t ready to play first base following his return from the injured list.
“Right now, we got him back to get his bat in the mix,” Green said. “We have thought of him primarily as a DH for the short term. As we get into August, if he continues to feel good, I would expect us to start to explore [first base] … that was obviously the intent when we signed him.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
