CHICAGO — The Mets came one step closer to finding a resolution to their crowded catching situation Thursday when they designated Gary Sanchez for assignment to make room for Tomas Nido on the 26-man roster, who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Omar Narvaez (left calf strain) officially started his rehab assignment with High-A Brooklyn.
Nido has been out since May 10 with dry eye syndrome, a condition that occurs when tears aren’t able to properly lubricate the eye. It can be common for some people who have undergone LASIK surgery, which Nido has.
The 29-year-old worked with an eye doctor to find a solution to the problem, which resulted in punctal plugs, contact lenses and allergy medication. Punctal plugs are tiny plugs inserted into the opening of the tear drainage duct in the corner of the eye (the punctum).
Nido needed an IL stint and a rehab outing to be able to get used to the contact lenses and glasses since he hadn’t previously had them since the laser eye procedure. He had to test the depth perception at the plate and behind it as well.
“This is the best outcome,” Nido said. “I can put this behind me now.”
But now the question becomes, will he be able to hit with vision corrections? Nido was hitting just .118 with a .266 OPS before being placed on the IL. Some of the vision issues may have correlated with his struggles at the plate.
“It’s kind of a fresh start for him,” said manager Buck Showalter. “It’s been a challenge for him for a lot of reasons. Now he can put all of that behind him. Sometimes players just try to draw a line and say, ‘Let’s start over here.’”
Nido isn’t blaming the eye problems for his poor offensive performance.
“I don’t really want to put excuses on it,” he said. “I’m sure it affected it in some way, but it is what it is. I feel a lot better now and I’m excited to go out there and get going.”
Nido wasn’t in the lineup for the third game of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. Francisco Alvarez has received the bulk of the games behind the plate since Nido went down and it’s unclear how the playing time will be divided moving forward, but Showalter said he won’t keep Nido sitting for too long.
The more senior of the two homegrown backstops has typically caught Max Scherzer and Kodai Senga, but Alvarez handled the latter’s forkball well Wednesday night. Nido hasn’t been told anything about his role and he hasn’t thought much about it, only saying he’s ready to contribute however needed and that he’s supportive of Alvarez, who has been a boon for the Mets’ offense over the last few weeks, homering in three of his last four games and going 6-for-13 (.426) in that span with seven RBI and a walk.
“Unbelievable. I’m so happy for him,” Nido said. “I’m a huge fan of him and I always have been. I’m …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
