NEW YORK -- An old injury reemerged this weekend for Mets outfielder Jay Bruce, who was out of Monday's starting lineup due to a recurrence of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Bruce missed time early this spring with the issue, but believed he had taken the proper steps to prevent it from sidelining him during the season.
That did not turn out to be the case for Bruce, who began feeling pain in his foot during Saturday's game against the Brewers -- possibly a byproduct of the cold weather in New York. Bruce pinch-hit Sunday, but did nothing more than jog to first base on an intentional walk.
"It's never really been unbearable where I felt like I had to say something," Bruce said. "But yesterday and the day before, it definitely was talking to me a little more than I thought it should be. I'm not really one who likes to take days off, but it's the necessary evil sometimes. It's important to be healthy."
Bruce did say he felt well enough to play Monday, but manager Mickey Callaway encouraged him to take another day off -- until he called on the left-handed hitting slugger to pinch-hit in the eighth. Bruce grounded out to second, hustling down the line and making it a close play with the second baseman playing in shallow right field in the shift. Currently wearing an orthotic sleeve in his shoe, Bruce plans to start wearing a splint at night to keep his foot in the right position when he sleeps.
He believes that adjustment, in addition to an extra off-day, should be enough to keep him on the field.
"If one day [off] can keep you from missing some extended time, then he wants to do it," Bruce said of Callaway. "We're in a pretty good spot. This is something that I dealt with a little bit in Spring Training, and I want to do everything I can to really nip it in the bud, and knock it out, and not have it be a lingering issue."
On the mend
Reliever Anthony Swarzak plans to fly to Florida later this week to ramp up his throwing program. Sidelined since March 31 due to a strained left oblique, Swarzak is still likely multiple weeks away from a return.