New York Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera exited Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies after suffering a strained left patellar tendon, per ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin.
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Johnson Fills in For Cabrera
Sunday, July 31
Kelly Johnson replaced Cabrera in the lineup, with Wilmer Flores moving from third to short.
Cabrera suffered the same injury back in March. He was out for a little over two weeks before returning in spring training.
According to Rubin, Sunday’s injury came as the 30-year-old was crossing home plate on a triple by Neil Walker. Mets trainer Ray Ramirez and bench Dick Scott helped him get back to the dugout.
Cabrera entered the game batting .255 with 13 home runs and 33 runs batted in. According to FanGraphs, his 0.9 WAR was tied for fourth on the team among position players.
The timing of the injury is especially bad since Jose Reyes is on the disabled list with a left intercostal strain. He isn’t expected back until potentially Aug. 11. Whereas Reyes would’ve been the natural replacement for Cabrera, manager Terry Collins will likely look to Flores.
The bulk of Flores’ season has come at the hot corner, but he played 103 games last year at shortstop, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Defensively, Cabrera’s absence shouldn’t create too many issues for the Mets. The problems will come offensively, as Johnson—who has three homers and six RBI—is unlikely to provide the same kind of power at the plate.
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