Hurting Mets Have Dropped 8 of 9; Injury Updates

The Mets are hurting literally and figuratively.

They were swept this weekend by the first place Nationals and Sunday night's loss was their eighth in the last nine games. It's still early but the Mets are off to an 8-11 start and sit in fourth in the division. I know, it's early.

Worth noting as well that their recent struggles coincide with the absence of four-regular, or semi-regular hitters.

Mets.com reports that the team hopes Yoenis Cespedes can return to the lineup on Tuesday night as the Mets welcome the Braves to Citi Field. He didn't see any action in their showdown with the rival Nats', although he was on-deck as the game ended Sunday. We'll see if his strained hammy is good-enough to go Tuesday.

d'Arnaud has an injured wrist and could return this week as well.

Duda is on the DL until the end of the month with a hyper-extended elbow. Manager Terry Collins has moved Jay Bruce to first base in Duda's absence and slid Michael Conforto into the outfield to replace Bruce.

The Wilmer Flores story is a bit more worrisome. In fact, it's downright scary. After complaining of knee discomfort he was placed on the DL with a knee infection. Abby Sims of CBS Sports wrote an unnerving piece describing the septic arthritis condition Flores is reportedly dealing with, as he was in a hospital hooked to an IV all weeked. No one is saying Flores is on his death bed, but if no treated properly and immediately, people can die from this type of infection, according to Sims.

Hopefully Flores' infection was diagnosed quickly enough that he won't face any serious injury.

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