PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets captain David Wright is finally ready to enter a Grapefruit League game for the first time in 2016.
After proceeding cautiously with Wright throughout camp to avoid aggravating his back, Wright is now due to start at third base on Friday at 6:10 p.m. ET as the Mets face the Washington Nationals at Tradition Field (SNY/WOR).
Wright served as a designated hitter in a pair of minor-league games this week -- including on Thursday, when he went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly.
Manager Terry Collins revealed that Wright will only play home games during the remaining Grapefruit League schedule, as it takes him a long time to prepare his back for games and bus rides could be detrimental.
Bartolo Colon faces Nationals right-handed prospect Lucas Giolito on Friday night.
FRIDAY’S NEWS REPORTS:
Matt Harvey will start the April 3 opener against the Kansas City Royals on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Collins sounds prepared to have Jacob deGrom start Game 2, with Steven Matz working after him in that game. But that plan could be disrupted if deGrom’s wife Stacey gives birth to the couple’s first child during that series. The baby boy is due on April 5, the precise date of the second game in Kansas City. Read more in the Post, Times, Newsday, Record and at MLB.com.
Returning from a balky back, deGrom retired nine of the 10 batters he faced and Travis d’Arnaud and Curtis Granderson drove in three runs apiece as the Mets beat the Marlins 6-5 on Thursday. Matz fired his glove at his locker after departing because he was displeased with his appearance. He allowed three runs on five hits and a walk in four relief innings. Yoenis Cespedes was hit with a pitch on his right wrist and departed the game, although Cespedes insisted he was fine and Collins said Cespedes was due to depart after that third plate appearance anyway. Sean Gilmartin allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth, but stranded the tying run at second base. Read more in the Post, Newsday and at MLB.com.
A week after departing a game with a strained patellar tendon in his left knee, Asdrubal Cabrera already has started riding a stationary bicycle. That’s ahead of schedule, as Cabrera originally was instructed to remain idle for two weeks after suffering the injury on March 10. Collins now believes Cabrera will be ready for Opening Day. That could mean Eric Campbell making the roster over Matt Reynolds instead of both qualifying, unless the Mets were to decide to carry an extra position player early on. Read more in Newsday and at MLB.com.
The New York City Council is expected to vote on Tuesday to approve a ban on smokeless tobacco at ticketed sports events. The law would affect spectators as well as players at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. The Big Apple would join Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco in banning the product at baseball games. The Windy City just passed that ban on Wednesday, leading some Chicago Cubs players to be upset. "We're grown men," John Lackey told Jesse Rogers at ESPN.com. "People in the stands can have a beer, but we can't do what we want? That's a little messed up." Read more in the Post.
Dilson Herrera went 0-for-2 with three walks, an RBI and a run scored as his native Colombia beat Spain, 9-2, in a World Baseball Classic qualifying game in Panama on Thursday. Mets farmhand Luis Guillorme started at shortstop for Spain and went 0-for-5.
Catcher Nevin Ashley was demoted to minor league camp.
Former Mets farmhand Darrell Ceciliani has a chance to make the Opening Day roster of the Toronto Blue Jays as the fourth outfielder, Steve Buffery writes in the National Post. The Mets traded Ceciliani to Toronto for cash when they needed to clear a 40-man roster spot to accommodate Cespedes’ re-signing.
Right-hander Matt Bowman, the Rule 5 pick from the Mets, still has a chance to make the St. Louis Cardinals’ Opening Day roster. But Bowman’s recent performance against the Atlanta Braves did not help his cause, Derrick Goold writes in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Sandy Alderson tells Marc Carig in Newsday that the Mets are potentially looking for a backup catcher for Triple-A, but not at the major league level. A source recently told ESPN.com that the Mets were dissatisfied with Johnny Monell and were searching for a major league backup, although it could be difficult to snag one.
The Mets’ rotation is solid, columnist Richard Justice writes at MLB.com.
From the bloggers … Faith and Fear balances practicality and sentimentality following the release of Ruben Tejada. ... Mets Report believes Harvey on Opening Day is a no-brainer.
BIRTHDAYS: No one to ever play for the Mets was born on March 18, but Adam Levine, Queen Latifah and Zdeno Chara celebrate birthdays.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
@AdamRubinESPN Can you please let Dartmouth know this.
— SaltyGary (@SaltyGary) March 17, 2016
YOU’RE UP: How many games do you believe Wright will play this season?