PITTSBURGH — The freefalling Mets are facing the possibility of being without their best hitter for 3-4 weeks. The extra imaging on Pete Alonso’s left wrist showed a bone bruise and a sprain, forcing the club to place him on the injured list Friday.
It’s a huge blow for a team that has lost six straight and done so in brutal fashion. Alonso leads the Mets and MLB with 22 home runs and the lineup is lacking in power outside of Alonso, Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor.
The Mets are not looking for any sympathy.
“He’s not going to be here. We’re going to miss him, but life goes on,” manager Buck Showalter said Friday at PNC Park. “What are you going to do? Nobody cares about your problems from an opposition standpoint… This is where we are and what we’re dealing with, and so now we can go forward.”
The first baseman was hit on the left wrist with a 97 mph fastball from Atlanta Braves’ right-gander Charlie Morton on Wednesday night at Truist Park. The injury came in the first inning and X-rays came back negative, but the club still felt it best to send him to New York to undergo more imaging and get examined by team doctors.
“He’s got a lot of things like this that he’s been challenged with before,” Showalter said. “And he always responds well.”
The Mets called up infielder Luis Guillorme from Triple-A Syracuse to take his spot on the roster. The club used Mark Canha at first base again Friday for the start of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tommy Pham took Canha’s spot in left field, as he did in Atlanta when the injury occurred. The Mets also plan to use rookie Mark Vientos at first base in Alonso’s absence as well as Guillorme. Daniel Vogelbach took reps there during spring training.
However, it’s tough to make up for Alonso’s bat.
Alonso was slashing .231/.326/.546 with an .872 OPS, four doubles, a triple, two stolen bases and an OPS+ of 139. In addition to leading all hitters in home runs, the 28-year-old Alonso also leads the league in RBI with 49.
“Pretty good player, good hitter,” Showalter said. “Impactful, but you know, we scored 10 runs yesterday against one of the best teams in baseball without him there. That was against a really good pitcher [Braves right-hander Spencer Strider]. So I’m not gonna say someone has to step up and all that stuff. You’ve just got to be who you are. We have the people to withstand it.”
Guillorme, a defense-first reserve infielder, was able to get a mental reset by going back to Triple-A. It was his first time spending extended time in the minor leagues since 2019, and though he wasn’t expecting the demotion, he always knew it was a possibility. He worked on his timing at the plate and feels that his swing is in a good place coming back to the big leagues.
“I wasn’t happy about it, I don’t think anybody is happy about that situation,” Guillorme said. “But it is what it is. There’s not much I can do about it, just go about my business like I always have.”
The club also made a move to get a fresh arm in the bullpen, designating right-hander Stephen Nogosek for assignment and calling up left-hander Zach Muckenhirn from Syracuse.
This gives the Mets two lefties in the bullpen and one they can use to face left-handed hitters in the middle innings, with Brooks Raley primarily deployed in high-leverage, late-inning situations.
With Nogosek now gone and the bullpen torched after using six relievers Thursday in Atlanta, the Mets anticipate having to lean on Muckenhirn on Friday night, if not Saturday as well. He was the freshest arm in the Syracuse bullpen, having last pitched four days ago.
“It’s two parts: One, are you capable of pitching length physically? And then can you do it on the field?” Showalter said. “We had Nogo yesterday he was capable of pitching three innings, but Atlanta didn’t allow him to. It’s one thing to have that ability, physically, to go long. But you’ve got to get somebody out in order to do that.”
In addition, right-hander Edwin Uceta underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee by Dr. Andrew Pearle in New York. He’s expected to return in eight weeks. Uceta was 1-0 with a 7.71 ERA over two outings in Syracuse. He made one appearance with the Major League team earlier this season.
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