Jesse Winker was eliminated through the fourth inning of Sunday’s 6-5 Mets loss to the Cardinals when Winker harm his proper facet after making a throw from left area. Making an attempt to throw out Brendan Donovan at dwelling throughout a third-inning sacrifice fly, Winker instructed reporters (together with MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) postgame that he “felt it just about proper once I threw the ball.” Winker completed the remainder of the inning however was changed earlier than the Mets’ subsequent flip within the area.
An MRI revealed indirect injury, and Winker will head again to New York for extra testing on Monday. An official placement for Winker on the 10-day injured checklist is bound to comply with earlier than the Mets take the sector on Monday in Phoenix to start out a sequence in opposition to the Diamondbacks. Indirect accidents have an unsure timeline, even when a participant is coping with a minor pressure, and a extra extreme pressure might put Winker out for months and even put his season in jeopardy.
Sunday marked Winker’s first begin of the season within the outfield, and solely his second non-DH look in 24 complete appearances in 2025. As a result of the Mets have been enjoying a doubleheader in opposition to the Cardinals, the group needed to stretch the roster a bit greater than regular, resulting in Winker’s begin in left area within the first sport, and Starling Marte’s first look within the outfield all season when he was the beginning proper fielder for the second sport.
Getting harm throughout that uncommon outfield outing simply provides to the misfortune of Winker’s state of affairs, and his absence will take away a key left-handed bat from New York’s roster. Winker and Marte have coated the designated hitter at-bats in a lefty/proper platoon, in order DiComo notes, the Mets may be capable to fill Winker’s spot by biking a number of gamers by the DH spot. Such left-handed hitting choices as Jared Younger, Jon Singleton, Rafael Ortega, Donovan Walton, or Billy McKinney are at Triple-A as potential call-ups — Younger is the one member of that group who’s on the 40-man roster, however the Mets might open up one other 40-man spot by transferring Jose Siri to the 60-day IL.
Winker is off to an okay however unspectacular begin in 2025, producing a 104 wRC+ from a .239/.321/.418 slash line over 78 plate appearances. Initially acquired as a commerce deadline rental from the Nationals final July, Winker hit decently properly throughout the remainder of the common season after which had a monstrous 1.168 OPS over 32 PA through the Mets’ playoff run. The Mets preferred what they noticed from the veteran and introduced him again to Queens on a one-year, $7.5M free agent deal.
