The Mets now must find a starting center fielder and replace their leadoff hitter, with uncertainty surrounding both spots.
Andres Torres, acquired in the offseason from the Giants, strained his left calf in the Mets’ 1-0 Opening Day win over the Braves. It’s the same injury he had in spring training, and it will force him to the disabled list.
In fact, it will force him back to where he just came from — Port St. Lucie, for rehab.
“I feel terrible that this happened,” Torres said.
Torres got hurt while pursuing Tyler Pastornicky’s liner in the seventh inning, a ball he misplayed into a triple. Torres appeared to break in on the ball, then had it sail over his head. He strained the calf while running.
Jason Bay had a feeling Torres was hurt.
“Andres is kind of the Energizer bunny,” Bay said. “When I saw him stop, I figured that’s not something he would do.”
So now what do the Mets do? Manager Terry Collins said Ruben Tejada will hit leadoff.
Tejada, who went 0-for-2 with a walk yesterday in his first game as Jose Reyes’ shortstop replacement, delivered an impressive .360 on-base percentage last year in his 328 at-bats. If he can do that again, the Mets are in fine leadoff shape.
Tejada’s career minor league OBP, however, is just .339.
Who plays center field is even more unclear. As of late yesterday afternoon, the Mets hadn’t determined who was going to be recalled for Torres.
It figures Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who has spent time at Triple-A the last two seasons, is a candidate.
Matt Den Dekker also could be a possibility, though he hasn’t played above Double-A and isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the organization would have to lose a player to accommodate him.
The Mets also have Scott Hairston, who filled in for Torres in center yesterday. Hairston, who dealt with a strained oblique in spring training, said he’s healthy now. He played 10 games in center last season.
In regards to whether Torres’ spring calf injury ever totally healed, Collins said he “passed every single test he had to pass to get ready to play.”
Torres, too, said he was fully recovered. Either way, there was pregame talk with Collins about the manager finally being able to have his desired 1-through-8 lineup on the field. It’s unknown when he’ll be able to have it again.