Yoenis Cespedes participating in limited baseball activities

In a bit of positive injury news for the Mets, Sandy Alderson told reporters today that Yoenis Cespedes has begun limited baseball activities and is progressing towards a return. Cespedes has been on the disabled list since April 27 with a hamstring strain.

On Tuesday, Mets manager Terry Collins estimated that Cespedes was about two weeks away from a return to the Mets. That timeline appears to still be intact.

Unquestionably the star of the team on the position player side, Cespedes was batting .270/.373/.619 with six home runs before his injury. His eventual return, along with today’s activation of Lucas Duda from the DL, should add more pop to a lineup that has already done reasonably well despite the injuries. The Mets are currently third in the National League in runs scored per game, and they ranked tenth on the day Cespedes hit the DL.

Assuming no outfielders get injured in the intervening time, Cespedes’s return will create the same lingering questions the Mets had before. Michael Conforto has been excellent in the leadoff spot, so it’s hard to see him leaving the lineup. Jay Bruce has been productive, as well. That leaves Curtis Granderson, but will Terry Collins bench a well-respected veteran who has proven to be valuable in the past? Regardless of how things shake out, the news on Cespedes’s progress should come as a relief to Mets fans.