PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets continue to go nowhere fast on the injury front.
Just when it appeared the team was within a David Wright appearance of having a full lineup, Andres Torres left last night’s exhibition game against the Nationals with a left calf strain.
Torres said the injury occurred as he was catching a Brett Carroll liner for the final out in the second inning. It came on the same day Ruben Tejada returned to the lineup after resting a sore left groin.
Although Torres is hopeful he will return within two or three days, manager Terry Collins has begun making contingency plans for center field, in the event a disabled list stint is needed.
Mike Baxter is expected to start at the position today, but Jason Bay has told Collins he is willing to play center, if needed, and the manager also wants to take a look at infielder Jordany Valdespin there.
Though Valdespin has never played the position, Collins said his athleticism makes him a worthy candidate. The Mets’ backup center fielder, Scott Hairston, is recovering from a strained oblique, and another option, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, was recently sent to minor league camp after straining an oblique.
As for Wright (rib cage), the manager hinted Monday could be the cutoff if the Mets hope to have their starting third baseman for Opening Day.
“I’m hoping he gets a couple of at-bats this weekend, if not, it will be early next week and then we’re talking about 10 days to get him tuned up,” Collins said. “That’s about as least amount of time as you would want to get somebody ready.”
* The Mets snapped a nine-game Grapefruit League winless streak with last night’s 2-0 victory over the Nationals. Dillon Gee pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings and Lucas Duda hit a solo home run in the fourth inning against Stephen Strasburg.
* Johan Santana is scheduled to throw 80 pitches in today’s start against the Cardinals in Jupiter. The lefty will have two exhibition starts remaining after today. In three appearances this spring he’s 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA.
“[Today] will be another big test,” Collins said. “He’s getting into that 80-90 pitch mark, where how is he going to respond in two days after that? But he feels good and we’ll see how he gets through it.
“But I’ve been feeling great about it. He’s got [three] more starts and after that we’ll have a real good gauge of what we’ve got.”