Jorge

Polanco

Polanco returns to New York’s infield picture for the first time since April 14. He’s at DH and hitting sixth against the Royals on Tuesday night. The 33-year-old veteran will provide some stability at first base after battling an Achilles issue for the last few months which has limited him to just 14 games this season. The hope is that he’ll be able to manage the ongoing issue and avoid surgery until the offseason.

Polanco returns to minor league game action for the first time since April 14. The 32-year-old veteran is attempting to play through a lingering Achilles issue and is likely to require a couple weeks of rehab contests to get back up to speed. He’s been limited to just 14 games in his Mets debut due to injury.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza reiterated that there’s no official timetable for Polanco to return at this stage in his rehabilitation process. The 32-year-old infielder has been dealing with lingering Achilles issues since the start of the season and has been on the injured list since early April. It seems unlikely he’ll make it back to New York until after next month’s All-Star break.

The procedural move opens up a spot on New York’s 40-man roster for waiver claim Zack Short. Polanco has been battling a lingering Achilles issue since early April and was pulled off a minor league rehab assignment over the weekend. The original belief was that he could manage the issue for the remainder of the season, but surgery to address the Achilles issue seems like a potential outcome at this stage.

Polanco was supposed to play again Saturday after going 0-for-2 with two walks for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, but either player or team decided that was a bad idea. He’ll be reevaluated in New York.

There was some thought that Polanco would be ready to rejoin New York’s lineup earlier this week, but he’s going to get a few additional rehab contests under his belt to ensure that he’s ready from a physical standpoint before the club brings him back. The 32-year-old will have to manage a lingering Achilles issue for the remainder of the season before determining whether to undergo a surgical procedure.

The general expectation is that Polanco will need a few additional rehab contests to get back up to speed before returning to New York’s lineup. The 32-year-old is expected to manage a lingering Achilles issue for the remainder of the season with the hope that he’ll manage to avoid surgery.

Polanco’s return timeline remains a bit murky, but he’s going to need at least one or two weeks of rehab contests to get back up to speed following a six-week layoff recovering from Achilles bursitis and a right wrist contusion that put him on the shelf back on April 18. He went 1-for-2 with a single in his rehab debut on Wednesday afternoon. The 32-year-old first baseman will likely have to manage the Achilles issue for the remainder of the season but there’s optimism he’ll manage to avoid surgery.

While Polanco initially went on the injured list with a wrist issue, the Achilles problem happened first and has lingered. It also seems to be the bigger hindrance to this return right now, as Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said that Polanco’s Achilles tendon needs to be “asymptomatic” before knowing when he’ll be back. Polanco is performing some baseball activities, like taking batting practice, but there is no timeline for his return right now.

Mendoza noted that Polanco has good days and bad days in his recovery and that while his wrist is progressing, bursitis in his Achilles remains an ongoing problem. At this rate, it would be surprising to see him return from the injured list before the end of May.