Jason Bay’s painstakingly slow return to action should inch forward again today when he is scheduled to take batting practice for the first time, along with Ronny Paulino.
The Mets left fielder, out with a strained left rib cage, hit in the cage in Port St. Lucie again yesterday and reported no problems and will likely do more today.
“He hit in the cage, soft tossed and hit off a tee,” manager Terry Collins said before the Mets’ 8-4 victory over the Nationals. “[Today], he’ll take batting practice off one of the coaches. It’s step two of the process.”
It’s a process that the Mets would have liked to have ended yesterday, when Bay was eligible to come off the disabled list.
But the rib injury delayed his comeback further, as Bay is still looking to play in his first regular season game since last July after suffering a concussion that ended hi s first year with the Mets.
As for Paulino (anemia), the Mets must decide today whether to activate him or put him on the 15-day DL. The backup catcher’s 50-game suspension for using PEDs last year ended last night.
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Carlos Beltran will “probably” get today off, according to Collins: “I’ll have him if I need him, but if I put him out there and for some reason [he gets hurt] I couldn’t live with myself.”
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Chris Young will make his second start today for the Mets after he debuted by holding the heavy-hitting Phillies to a lone run while striking out seven in 5 1/3 solid innings.
“I’m not getting too excited about one start, there’s a long way to go,” Young said. “The last start was good but there’s room for improvement.”
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Collins expects R.A. Dickey to make his next start after the knuckleballer was bothered by a snag in his right index fingernail. . . . Jason Isringhausen (back) pitched in Port St. Lucie yesterday and told Collins his cutter was good. Rehab coordinator Randy Niemann told Collins the right-hander was ready when they need him, but there’s no return date set.