In the third inning of Wednesday's game against the Phillies (GameTracker), Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was hit by a pitch on his left hand by Justin De Fratus. It clearly was not intentional. Cespedes was removed from the game immediately.
Here's the play:
The Mets have already clinched the NL East, so removing Cespedes was a no-brainer. The team has since announced Cespedes suffered only a contusion on his middle and ring fingers only. There is no fracture. A relief, to be sure.
Cespedes, 29, came into Wednesday's game hitting .291/.326/.543 (137 OPS+) with 35 home runs and 105 RBI this year, including .287/.331/.610 (155 OPS+) with 17 homers and 44 RBI in 53 games for the Mets. He came over from the Tigers at the trade deadline.
The Mets have no shortage of outfielders to replace Cespedes in the short-term -- Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto are starters with Juan Lagares, Michael Cuddyer and Kirk Nieuwenhuis among the reserves.
A long-term injury would have been another matter. Cespedes' power and presence can not be replaced. It's easy to fracture one of those tiny little bones in your hand on a play like that. The Mets and Cespedes escaped with no serious injuries.
