MLB

Turner follows Wright as injured Mets 3B

‘THIRD’ RAIL: First franchise pillar David Wright was shut down with a rib cage strain, then backup third baseman Justin Turner (above) suffered a sprained ankle in yesterday’s game, leaving Zach Lutz temporarily atop the Mets’ depth chart. (
)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Somebody will play third base for the Mets on Opening Day. Right?

Justin Turner’s candidacy to replace David Wright at third became murky yesterday when he sprained his right ankle in the fourth inning of the Mets’ 4-2 exhibition loss to the Marlins.

Turner was injured after diving to stop a Justin Ruggiano grounder. As Turner popped up to throw, the front spike on his left foot got caught on the grass and put him in an awkward position, he said, with his weight redistributed to his right foot. Turner limped off the field and was taken for precautionary X-rays, the results of which were not immediately available.

“It’s not too swollen — as long as it doesn’t blow up overnight and get too bad,” Turner said. “Hopefully it will just be a couple of days.”

It came a day after Wright was diagnosed with a “moderate” left rib cage strain, leaving him questionable for the Mets’ opener April 1 against the Padres at Citi Field.

PHOTOS: METS SPRING TRAINING

Wright, who had spent the previous two weeks with Team USA for the World Baseball Classic, did not return to camp yesterday as originally planned — he remained in New York, where he was examined — but is expected back today. On Friday, he was prescribed 3-5 days of rest before determining what activities he can resume.

“You can’t get discouraged, you can’t get down, you’ve got to get yourself playing for the next day,” manager Terry Collins said. “If [Turner] can’t play [today], we’ll find somebody else.”

Other than Turner, the Mets have rookie Zach Lutz, Brandon Hicks and Brian Bixler in the mix to potentially fill in for Wright.

Lutz, who played third base last season for Triple-A Buffalo, has been solid offensively, batting .344 with four RBIs this spring. The Mets have used him at third base, first base and left field.

“It’s real hard with a player like David going down, but I’ve been getting to the field early every day and preparing myself so if the opportunity like this came about, I would be ready,” Lutz said. “I’ve been preparing myself every day and feel pretty good right now.”

Turner played 36 games at third base two years ago, mostly when Wright was sidelined by a stress fracture in his lower back. Turner also saw plenty of action playing third in the Dominican Republic this winter.

“I’m catching up with games played at third as played at second if you count winter ball,” Turner said. “Hopefully it’s just a minor thing [for Wright] and he’ll be back out and playing Opening Day and hitting in the middle of our lineup.”

Last year, Turner hit .269 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 171 at-bats. But he showed Collins the previous year he’s a capable player.

“Last year, Ike [Davis] stayed healthy, David stayed healthy, [Daniel] Murphy stayed healthy and it cost [Turner] a lot of at-bats,” Collins said. “This kid can play at the major league level, and he does save you a lot. He knows how to handle the bat, he knows how to play, he has great instincts on the field.

“He may not be the fastest guy on the team or have the best arm, but he is a good baseball player.”