Three of the last five NL East titles belong to the Washington Nationals. The New York Mets took the division crown in 2015. Both teams made the playoffs last year, and many expect that to repeat itself this season. So, yeah, the Nationals visiting Citi Field for a series with the Mets this weekend seems like a very fun early-season series.
Then again, we aren't really going to see the Mets playing in it. Not close to full strength, at least. Check this out, regarding Mets manager Terry Collins' pregame session with the local media:
It took TC about 10 minutes just to list #Mets that are hurt and detail what's wrong with them. Nats didnt even come up in pregame briefing.
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) April 21, 2017
Remember, pitchers Seth Lugo and Steven Matz are already on the disabled list along with third baseman David Wright.
In perusing the feed of Mets beat writer Marc Carig, let's add the following to the list of the walking wounded in Citi Field:
- Lucas Duda has been placed on the DL.
- Wilmer Flores has been placed on the DL.
- Jacob deGrom -- Friday's scheduled starter -- might be scratched in favor of Matt Harvey due to neck stiffness.
- Travis d'Arnaud has been scratched from the lineup due to having trouble throwing.
- Asdrubal Cabrera's legs are "bothering him." The hamstrings, specifically.
- Yoenis Cespedes (hamstring) "may need a few days."
So with the injured players, we've got a catcher, first baseman, shortstop, third baseman, left fielder, starting pitcher and someone capable of coming in relief (Lugo). It should be noted that Brandon Nimmo is also on the disabled list, so we're only one outfielder short of being able to field an entire lineup of hurt Mets.
Not quite the ideal situation heading into what should have been a great April series in New York.
