NEW YORK (AP) — Marcus Stroman is optimistic he can make his next scheduled start for the New York Mets after an MRI showed no damage to his sore left hip.
That was good news for the depleted Mets, who reinstated right fielder Michael Conforto from the injured list Wednesday — one of eight roster moves the banged-up NL East leaders made before their series finale against Atlanta.
Conforto had been sidelined since straining his right hamstring on May 16. He was ready to return Tuesday but wasn't activated after Triple-A Syracuse’s game was postponed to allow for more COVID-19 testing and contact tracing within the organization. Conforto spent last weekend on a rehab assignment with Syracuse, so the Mets said they decided not to reinstate him Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution.”
“It was definitely a rollercoaster,” Conforto said. “Super excited yesterday. Fortunately, everything was fine.”
The outfielder said Wednesday he tested negative three times and was feeling good. He batted third in his return to the lineup and lined a double into the right-field corner his first time up before scoring on a groundout.
Conforto finished 2 for 4 with a walk and scored twice in New York's 7-3 victory.
Conforto, an All-Star in 2017, was hitting .230 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 33 games when he got hurt. He can become a free agent after the World Series.
“I have zero worries about the leg, so that's good stuff," Conforto said. “It's just going to be a process getting my legs back under me, no matter how many rehab games I play. It's a different intensity up here. So, that's going to be the big adjustment.”
Stroman, the team’s most durable starting pitcher this season, exited Tuesday night’s outing in the second inning because of his aching hip.
Mets manager Luis Rojas said Stroman remained sore Wednesday, but the MRI results were comforting. He will receive treatment, and New York hadn't ruled him out for Monday night at Washington.
“Right now it’s a relief just to know that he’s clean there. I think we caught it on time. I said this several times with the guys: I’m glad he stopped and we were able to go out there and he was able to listen to different guys that were on the mound to come out, because he wanted to pitch through it and he could have aggravated stuff in there — or even something else," Rojas said.
“He is optimistic that he can make his next start, but that’s something that we still as a group, we want to reassess and work with him just to get the soreness out of there and just to make him do his in-between start routine.”
Tylor Megill's contract was selected from Syracuse and the right-hander started Wednesday night against the Braves in his major league debut. Megill pitched in place of Joey Lucchesi, transferred to the 60-day injured list ahead of season-ending Tommy John surgery scheduled for Thursday.
New York also put second-string catcher Tomás Nido on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Tuesday, with a bruised right wrist. An MRI revealed no fracture, Rojas said.
The Mets have 13 players on the IL.
Right-hander Corey Oswalt was selected from Syracuse, and reliever Robert Gsellman (right lat strain) was moved to the 60-day IL.
Right-handed relievers Yennsy Díaz and Sean Reid-Foley were optioned to Syracuse.
Jonathan Villar, who has been filling in nicely at third base for injured J.D. Davis, was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game with a calf issue. An MRI came back clean, Rojas said, but Luis Guillorme started at the hot corner again.
___
More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
