Jose Reyes is heading to Port St. Lucie and should be ready to return to the Mets when he is eligible to come off the disabled list on August 11.
Reyes initially hurt himself on a swing during the doubleheader against the Cardinals on July 26. He was diagnosed with a Grade 1 intercostal strain and was expected to miss just a few days according to Terry Collins. An intercostal strain is potentially a painful injury that can affect your ability to breathe with rest being the best treatment option.
Later that week, Reyes could not take swings from the right side, so the Mets opted to place him on the disabled list on July 30—retroactive to July 27—instead of having him only bat from the left side. Justin Ruggiano took Reyes’s roster spot when the Mets signed the outfielder after the Texas Rangers released him.
Unfortunately for the Mets, Ruggiano got caught in the revolving door heading to the disabled list when he hurt himself two days later running to first base. Jay Bruce then took Ruggiano’s roster spot when he came over in the trade from the Reds at the August 1 trade deadline.
Undoubtedly, the Mets will have to again shuffle the roster when Reyes is eligible to return, but that is a better problem to have than the many instances this year when the Mets had to scramble to plug glaring holes.