Notes: Mets acquire Jurado; injury updates

The Mets’ 40-man roster churn continued on Wednesday, when they acquired right-hander Ariel Jurado from the Rangers for a player to be named later.

To clear space for Jurado, the Mets designated outfielder Ryan Cordell for assignment, completing a circle that opened last week when they called up Cordell and DFA’d 14th-ranked prospect Jordan Humphreys, whom they later dealt to the Giants for Billy Hamilton.

In sum, the Mets replaced Humphreys with Jurado, and Cordell with Hamilton.

Like Humphreys, Jurado has a history on prospect lists, ranking third on the Rangers’ Top 30 before the 2017 season. His stock, however, has since fallen. Jurado posted a 4.59 ERA at Double-A that season, a 5.93 mark over a dozen Major League outings the following summer and a 5.81 ERA in a swingman role last year in the Majors. Jurado, 24, has enjoyed some success during stints in the upper Minors the past two seasons, but his strikeout rates have been consistently low.

Upon acquiring Jurado, the Mets assigned him to their alternate training site in Brooklyn, where he will serve as both rotational and bullpen depth. He becomes the 63rd player to appear in their 60-man player pool this year.

Cordell, 28, appeared in four games with the Mets, including his first start of the season in center field on Tuesday. But the acquisition of Hamilton made him redundant. The Mets have seven days to trade Cordell, release him or place him on waivers.

From the trainer’s room
Second baseman Robinson Canó, who landed on the injured list Tuesday, said he hopes to come off the IL when first eligible on Aug. 14. In the interim, Canó is going through a routine of full-body strengthening exercises, before potentially restarting baseball activities this weekend or next week.

Canó, who injured his groin rounding third base in the fourth inning Monday, had been enjoying a 13-for-22 (.591) hot streak prior to his injury. Consider that a trend. Last year, he recorded multiple hits in three straight games before the second of his three IL trips, and was in a 9-for-15 (.600) stretch before the third of them.

“I never use the word frustrating,” Canó said. “It’s something that you don’t want to go through it. You want to be able to go out there and … help the team to win games. But at the same time, thank God that it was nothing major, that I was smart that I got out of the game.”

Also hopeful of a quick recovery is Jeff McNeil, who strained an intercostal muscle during batting practice on Monday. Both McNeil and Amed Rosario (left quad tightness) were out of the Mets’ lineup Wednesday for a second consecutive day, but neither injury was serious enough to require an IL stint.

“It’s very minor,” McNeil said. “In a few days, it shouldn’t be anything.”

Stroman to throw again
Marcus Stroman threw more than 40 pitches in a side session Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in a simulated game on Thursday. Stroman, who has been sidelined since before Opening Day due to a torn left calf muscle, pitched four innings in his first sim game last week.

The Mets have continually declined to provide a timetable for Stroman, other than to say he must prove capable of athletic defensive movements around the mound before they will clear him to return from the IL.

Strong debuts
The organization’s 2020 first- and second-round Draft picks, Pete Crow-Armstrong and J.T. Ginn, debuted at sixth and seventh on MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 30 Mets Prospects list, respectively. Five of the team’s Top 10 prospects are now 2019 or ’20 Draft picks: Brett Baty (fourth), Matthew Allan (fifth), Crow-Armstrong, Ginn and Josh Wolf (10th).

A gifted defensive outfielder, Crow-Armstrong profiles as a future leadoff man, but he only turned 18 in March and remains years away from the big leagues. Ginn is older, at 21, but he will spend the rest of this year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Time to rest
Thursday will provide the Mets with their first off-day of the season, after playing 13 days in a row to open the schedule. That stretch included a delayed flight that saw the Mets arrive at their Atlanta hotel around 4 a.m. ET last week, and a Monday night journey through the outskirts of Tropical Storm Isaias.

Particularly on the road, the Mets have tried to balance the need for early work and treatment at stadiums with the desire for extra rest in their hotel rooms.

“It’s been tough with the traveling -- night games, and then traveling, getting to places at 3 in the morning, 4 in the morning,” manager Luis Rojas said. “Definitely, it’s a challenging part.”