BOSTON — Tommy Pham is out of the lineup for the third straight game, but he’s available off the bench Sunday night against the Boston Red Sox. The Mets do not plan on placing him on the injured list because MRIs are not showing any sort of damage that would lead them to believe this injury will require the outfielder to take 10 or more days off.
However, they did just play two games with a short bench. The injury occurred the day before the All-Star break in San Diego, which was two weeks ago.
“He’s getting there,” manager Buck Showalter said Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park before the series finale against the Red Sox. “He’s a lot more available than what he had been.”
Pham did not travel to Boston with the team Thursday night, instead staying back in New York to have the groin evaluated again. He underwent imaging after returning from San Diego during the break and was cleared to play against the Los Angeles Dodgers last weekend. He played in five of the first games back after the break before leaving Thursday’s game against the Chicago White Sox with tightness once again.
Pham made it to Boston on Saturday before the Mets played a doubleheader, but they held him out to give him an extra day of rest with the hope that it would allow him to return in full by next week.
“If you look at the MRIs and the time, it’s just a matter of getting there,” Showalter said. “He’s had some history with the injury and has a pretty good read on himself. It’s worth waiting on.”
Pham did base running drills at Fenway Park on Sunday and took batting practice.
The Mets expect Pham to play Tuesday in the Subway Series. Playing a man down isn’t ideal, although the Mets have been known to do that, but it’s the wrong time of year for Pham to be injured.
He’s one of the team’s best trade candidates, so placing him on the IL with less than 10 days to the deadline would ensure that he doesn’t get traded. Pham leads the team with an .830 OPS, his exit velocity is the highest of his career and he’s barreling the ball at a 12.6% rate, higher than any other year since 2016.
He’s slashing .272/.356/.475 with nine home runs, 15 doubles (third on the team), one triple, 29 walks and 11 stolen bases (also the third-highest amount on the team. The 35-year-old Las Vegas native has been so good that he has supplanted Mark Canha as the everyday left fielder. Canha has some trade value as well, especially with his solid defense and ability to play multiple positions, but probably not as much as Pham right now.
However, the Mets are still waiting to determine whether or not to buy or sell. Entering Sunday, they were seven games back from an NL Wild Card spot. Should they win a few games over the next week and decide to keep the roster intact to try to reach the postseason, Pham will be an important piece.
“You don’t want to IL him and then he’s available two days later,” Showalter said. “Then you’re sitting there 10 days without him.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
The Mets received positive reports from Starling Marte, who is working out in New York while on the injured list with migraine headaches. Showalter said he’s had three “good days” without migraines. Marte had two migraines back-to-back last week and once they were gone, he was too weak to play. The club was concerned that two occurred so close to one another and were worried that playing would trigger another.
Marte has struggled with injuries this season, getting off to a slow start after undergoing double groin surgery over the winter and then battling headaches and neck stiffness that came after a collision in Los Angeles while running the bases. The right fielder recently told the Daily News that the groin is improving with a strength routine, but it’s still limiting his ability to fully rotate while swinging the bat.
Infielder Luis Guillorme (right calf strain) will undergo imaging in New York on Monday to determine the extent of the injury and get an idea of a better timeline.
ROSTER MOVE
The Mets returned left-hander Josh Walker to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. He was added to the roster Saturday for the second game of the doubleheader as the 27th man, but with a banged-up group, the Mets kept him around an extra day as insurance in case a pitcher was injured.