Mets Acting GM Zack Scott Believes 'Compliance Issues' Have Increased Injury Woes
The Mets have endured an absurd amount of injuries this season, particularly in the soft-tissue department, and acting general manager Zack Scott believes he might know why.
According to Scott, who spoke to reporters prior to the Mets' game against the Nationals on Tuesday night, some of these soft-tissue ailments can be boiled down to a lack of compliance from the players.
“Most of the time, I’ll be honest, it’s compliance issues,” Scott said. "Actually following the plan because these are all individuals and control their own bodies. Sometimes they’re not as compliant as they should be. I’ve seen that happen in the past.”
Scott went on to make it clear that he is not trying to vilify people, but that not all of the blame should be placed on the performance staff, who he has full confidence in.
“It’s just part of what happens sometimes,” he added. “It’s part of what happens with us as regular non-athletes when we’re trying to actually take care of ourselves. We kind of lapse on certain days. These guys are professionals, and for the most part, they’re locked in on what they’re supposed to do but sometimes it doesn’t take much to – maybe you’re not eating as well as you could, you’ve got to change some habits, or maybe you’re not hydrating enough, even though everyone’s on you to hydrate."
“At some point, you’ve got to take responsibility. We’re not just going to stick a needle in someone to hydrate them because they’re not doing it themselves.”
The Mets' current IL has 16 different players on it. And for those that are on this list, Luis Guillorme, Robert Gsellman and Robert Stock have soft-tissue injuries, while Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto and Carlos Carrasco all spent significant time on the shelf this season with hamstring issues as well.
“Going back to the individualized approach. You’ve got to take ownership of your career and your health, as well. It’s really an easy narrative to put it on performance staff or put it on hitting coaches. But that’s oversimplified. This is a partnership with those groups and the players and everybody has to be pulling in the direction.”
