Mets get James McCann back, still waiting on Max Scherzer
Mets' James McCann is congratulated in the dugout after scoring on a Jeff McNeil double in the 5th inning of their game against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on the afternoon of April 19, 2022. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
MIAMI — James McCann is back. The occasional soreness in his previously broken left wrist came with him.
“That’s going to be expected. That’s something we’ll deal with for probably the next several weeks, honestly,” McCann said Friday, moments after the Mets officially activated him from the injured list. “[The team’s medical staff] kept getting on me about getting frustrated about the timing, being this is my first real major injury in my career, where they had to do surgery and rehab and all of that stuff. I wanted an overnight fix. That’s not the case. I know there’s still going to be ups and downs that we’ll deal with.”
McCann returned after a five-game rehabilitation assignment with Double-A Binghamton, for which he had a .286/.348/.381 slash line. He had an operation on the fractured hamate bone 5 1/2 weeks ago, so he beat the Mets’ estimated six-week timetable by a few days.
Among the keys to his speedy recovery, according to McCann: the use of a hyperbaric chamber. He said the Mets set him up with a third-party facility in Manhattan.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen — 100% instead of normal air’s 21% — which allows lungs to collect more oxygen, which gets more oxygen to the tissue that need it, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“There were no stones left unturned as far as what we could do to accelerate the process of healing,” said McCann, who hit .196/.266/.286 before getting hurt.
Manager Buck Showalter said: “Mac has had a long road. I don’t think anybody has worked harder at rehab than Mac.”
McCann started the Mets’ series opener against the Marlins on the bench. Showalter said he would be behind the plate Saturday and Sunday.
The Mets sent Patrick Mazeika back to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster for McCann.
Not yet for Scherzer
Max Scherzer (strained left oblique) will not start Sunday against Miami, Showalter said. David Peterson will. That previously was Scherzer’s best-case scenario for a return.
Showalter said his next step hadn’t been decided yet. Another minor-league outing is an option.
Carrasco fine
Showalter expects Carlos Carrasco to take his next turn in the rotation next week as scheduled after medical imaging “didn’t show any structural issues.” Carrasco exited his outing against the Astros on Wednesday with lower back tightness.
Other injury updates
Jacob deGrom (stress reaction in his right shoulder blade) will throw live batting practice to Mets hitters again Saturday. That’ll be his second time doing so this week (and his second time since getting injured during spring training).
Jeff McNeil (right hamstring tightness) was out of the lineup for a third straight game. Asked about the possibility of a stay on the injured list, Showalter said, “we have a chance to not have to do that.” McNeil said he was feeling better and didn’t think that was necessary but would do what the team wanted.
Extra bases
With Seth Lugo returning from the paternity list, the Mets sent Yoan Lopez down to Syracuse. . . Former Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson threw out the first pitch before Mets-Marlins.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
