Davis, Lugo to rehab at Triple-A Syracuse

The Mets thought they would activate third baseman J.D. Davis from the injured list on Saturday. Instead, he will have a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse before he returns to the Major League team.

It turns out that Davis is still bothered by his bruised left hand. He feels the pain after he swings the bat.

“It’s going to take a couple of days of progression, so we are planning on sending him on a rehab assignment just to make sure that this is something he can work through from a hitting standpoint,” manager Luis Rojas said. “Today, it didn’t feel right to activate him.”

With Davis out, Jonathan Villar will continue to get the bulk of the playing time at third base. Villar has six RBIs in his last eight games. He had three RBIs in his first 21 games of the season. Villar also has eight walks in his last seven games entering Saturday’s action.

Seth Lugo (loose body in his right elbow) is expected to go on a rehab assignment at Triple-A in the next few days as well. Rojas said Lugo is lining up to make a few starts before he is activated from the injured list.

Once he comes back this month, Lugo will work out of the bullpen, according to Rojas, who hopes the right-hander can pitch more than one inning as a reliever.

“Some of the things he has done for us in the last couple of years, he was pitching out of the bullpen doing a two-inning deal,” Rojas said. “Maybe, we can see if he can stretch out to [pitch] three innings. He is a guy who pounds the zone. … [He] can do different things with his repertoire.”