As far as the Mets and injuries are concerned, there are no sure things except more woes around the corner. But Carlos Beltran’s long road back appears to be complete, and after missing 2½ months with a bone bruise in his right knee, the center fielder is expected to return tonight against the Marlins at Citi Field.
After playing his second straight nine-inning rehab game for Single-A Brooklyn on Sunday, Beltran proclaimed himself ready to go. And both manager Jerry Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya agreed they expected Beltran to be available tonight.
“I’ve been working to come back, so that’s my ultimate goal,” Beltran said in a team release after Sunday’s fifth and final rehab game for the Cyclones. “I haven’t spoken to Omar or the trainers yet about coming back, but I feel like I can come back and play. I’m ready.”
The club said Beltran, 32, came through fine yesterday, and should suit up tonight.
“There’s a good chance. I went to see him play (Saturday),” Minaya said on Sunday. “I talked to him myself, and he’s coming along and feeling pretty good.”
Still, Beltran cautioned that after not playing since June 21, he will be rusty and not at his best. But his biggest concern is the knee, which he claims is finally healed.
“I hadn’t played baseball in 2½ months before I came (to Brooklyn), so it’s going to take a little while to get my rhythm and timing back,” Beltran said. “But I’m not really concerned. My body feels good, and that’s the biggest thing.”
It’s been quite some time since Beltran’s body was fine, probably about the same amount of time since the Mets’ season was fine.
He went on the disabled list on June 22. The Mets beat St. Louis that day to improve to 35-33 and climb within 1½ games of Philadelphia in the National League East.
Since then, the Mets have gone 27-42 and utterly fallen apart.
When he went on the DL, Beltran was fourth in the NL with a .336 batting average, fifth in the league with a .425 on-base percentage and ninth with 20 doubles. He was one of the precious few Mets having a solid offensive season, but saw it cut short.
With two seasons left in a seven-year, $119 million contract, many asked Beltran why he didn’t just shut the rest of his season down. The same question was put to him when he arrived last week in Brooklyn. His response was succinct and simple.
“I don’t want to sit back. I’m a ballplayer,” Beltran said. “When you’re a ballplayer, your job is being able to rehab yourself and if that’s the last game of the season, then play the last game of the season. That’s what we’re here for; that’s what we get paid for.”
And in a season where Gary Sheffield, Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado may all be lost for the rest of the campaign, Manuel said that attitude speaks well of Beltran.
“All the guys tried to prolong that period from going out as long as possible,” the manager said. “Now when they went out, they tried to get back as quickly as possible. So Carlos is no different.
“He needs to come back and play. That’s what he does. He plays baseball. He should be out there in the field and get back and perform to the best of his ability. He was really on track for a really, really good year, too.”