Jorge Polanco reinstated from the injured list

Jorge Polanco has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, the Mets announced this afternoon. Polanco has been sidelined for nearly three months due to lingering Achilles bursitis. After being shut down from his rehab assignment last month due to persistent soreness in his ankle, Polanco resumed playing in rehab games for Triple-A Syracuse on June 27. After a slow start, Polanco hit two home runs and drove in three in his past three rehab games. Prior to the injury, the 33-year-old, who is in the first year of a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets, slashed .179/.246/.286 in a small 14-game sample in April. The Achilles injury has limited Polanco’s ability to play the field and he will be used solely as a DH for the Mets.

“Feeling good, feeling grateful and excited to be back,” Polanco said to reporters this afternoon.

To make room for Polanco on the roster, the Mets optioned Ronny Mauricio back to Triple-A Syracuse. In a separate move, the Mets added righty Matt Seelinger—acquired yesterday in a trade with the Tigers for cash considerations—to the big league roster. “It’s a dream scenario for me,” the Long Island native said of the chance to pitch for the Mets. “I grew up 20 minutes from here. I used to come to games all the time as a kid.”

To make room on the 40-man roster for Polanco and Seelinger, the Mets have designated pitchers Alex Carrillo and Guillermo Zuñiga for assignment—the latter just one day after he made his Mets debut.

There have also been recent updates on a couple of other long-injured Mets. Luis Robert Jr.’s rehab assignment has been transferred to Double-A Binghamton as the Rumble Ponies begin a six-game series against the Hartford Yard Goats in Hartford. Robert had played in three games for Triple-A Syracuse and went 1-for-10 with a walk and two strikeouts. Meanwhile, outfielder Mike Tauchman, who suffered a torn meniscus at the end of spring training and has yet to play in a regular season game, began a rehab assignment today in the Florida Complex League. He went 0-for-2 with a walk in his first rehab game as the DH for the FCL Mets.