Over the weekend Mets outfielder Juan Lagares injured his right shoulder attempting to make a diving catch in a Dominican winter league game. He underwent and X-ray and was evaluated on Sunday.
The results of the evaluation: better than it could’ve been: Lagares has been diagnosed with a sprained right shoulder. His winter ball season is over, but he’s expected to be ready to go for spring training.
Lagares finished the 2016 season batting .239/.301/.380 with 13 extra-base hits and nine RBI in 160 plate appearances. Not great, but he’s really the only legitimate defensive center fielder the Mets have at the moment. Curtis Granderson will likely man the position, but he’s increasingly become a liability in center, so having Lagares around as a defensive caddy for him is pretty important.