Mets Place Javier Báez On IL With Back Spasms

After holding him out of the lineup for the past three games, the Mets ultimately placed top trade deadline acquisition Javier Báez on the IL with his third different diagnosis.

The hits just never seem to end for the Mets.

After holding top trade deadline acquisition Javier Báez out of the lineup for the last three games with what was initially diagnosed as left hip tightness that turned into lower back tightness, the Mets placed Báez on the IL on Friday with back spasms ahead of their brutal 13-game stretch against the Dodgers and Giants.

And because the Mets opted to pinch-hit Báez on Wednesday, his IL stint will be retroactive to August 12, as opposed to August 9, the day after he exited the series finale in Philadelphia after hurting himself on a swing.

Although manager Luis Rojas initially said Báez would be available off the bench on Friday night, he did not rule out the IL due to the fact that the 28-year-old had still not shown much improvement five days later. 

As Rojas revealed after tonight's 6-5 loss to the Dodgers, the Mets ultimately decided to place Báez on the shelf after both the player and training staff concluded that he was still about 4-5 days away from being ready to re-enter the lineup. Instead, they opted to let him rest and called up infielder Travis Blankenhorn from Triple-A to replace him.

Báez's tenure in Queens has not gotten off to the best of starts, going 6-for-35 at the plate with 14 strikeouts. 

Although he helped spark the Mets' three run comeback walk-off win against the Reds in his debut, while also playing a big role in their lone win in a dreadful four-game series loss to the Marlins, the Mets were certainly hoping for a larger impact, along with more consistency from Báez.

Now, his turn around at the plate will have to wait. The Mets gave up 2020 first-round pick Pete Crow-Armstrong in exchange for Báez who is a rental player. At the moment, they have not seen a return on their investment with 48 games left to play. And losing him before their most pivotal stretch of the season will only make their task of facing the Dodgers and Giants even tougher in these next two weeks.