Mets bringing back Conforto among 4 callups

NEW YORK -- Michael Conforto will have a chance to prove his otherworldly August run at Triple-A Las Vegas was no Pacific Coast League mirage. The Mets plan to call up Conforto and three others as soon as rosters expand on Thursday, fortifying a roster decimated by injuries.
A member of the Mets' Opening Day lineup, Conforto earned the second of his two demotions to Las Vegas in mid-August. But he hit .493 with six home runs and a 1.361 OPS there in 17 games, forcing his way back to the big league roster. Although the Mets will not guarantee Conforto playing time in September, manager Terry Collins has said he plans to give him at-bats.
"I'm going to find ways to try to get him in the lineup," Collins said. "We've reached the point where we did last year at one point when we said, 'You hit, you play.' When Michael comes back and we get him in the lineup, if he hits, he stays in that lineup. We're fighting tooth and nail now to get in the postseason. And right now, as much as I'm a development guy, there's a time and a place. If we fall out of it, it's a different situation. So we're going to put him in when we think he's a major factor of us winning a game."
Prior to his demotion, Conforto hit .218 with 11 home runs in 84 big league games. It was a significant regression from 2015, when Conforto batted .270 with nine homers in 56 games as a rookie.
The Mets also plan to recall catcher Kevin Plawecki, infielder Ty Kelly and pitcher Gabriel Ynoa once rosters expand. They will make additional callups after Las Vegas' season ends on Monday, likely promoting infielder T.J. Rivera and outfielder Brandon Nimmo, among others, at that time.