Travis d’Arnaud could rejoin the Mets as soon as Thursday.
After passing an impact test on Wednesday, the Mets catcher still has to be examined by Major League Baseball doctors and the players’ association, but appears close to a return, according to manager Terry Collins.
D’Arnaud was placed on the seven-day disabled list for concussions last week after he was struck in the head by Alfonso Soriano’s backswing during the Subway Series.
The Mets won’t ease d’Arnaud back into action, according to Collins.
“When he’s ready to play, he will be back in there,” Collins said before the Mets’ 4-3 loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field.
Juan Lagares, who went 3-for-5 with a triple, returned from the Dominican Republic, where he spent the previous two days mourning the death of an aunt who raised him, and was placed in the starting lineup.
“I feel better now that I saw all my family, and I could support them,” Lagares said.
The Mets played shorthanded on Tuesday rather than place Lagares on the bereavement list, which would have sidelined him for a minimum of three days.
Collins emphasized the importance of throwing strikes during a conversation with Rafael Montero, after the rookie lasted just 4¹/₃ innings and allowed five runs — walking four batters — in a loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday.
“You’ve got to be able to pound the zone and we know [Montero] can do it,” Collins said. “You face teams like the Dodgers, the Yankees that have those veteran hitters in there, they have to know you can throw your pitches over or they are not going to swing at it.”
Eric Campbell got the start at first base for the Mets against lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu. Campbell, who went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, is a red hot 7-for-16 (.438), mostly as a pinch hitter.
“He’s not a guy you’re going to run up there to say, ‘Hey, hit the ball out of the ballpark,’ ” Collins said. “That’s not his game. His game is to hit to the alleys and put the bat on the ball and he’s done that.”
Former Met-turned-Dodger Justin Turner took the No. 7 train for the first time to the game, and it wound up costing him a half-dozen tickets.
Turner was recognized by six high school-aged kids, who wound up getting invited to the game.
— Additional reporting by George Willis