Bo Bichette out of Mets’ lineup again due to ‘right ankle soreness’

Bo Bichette was out of the lineup for a second straight game Saturday as Mets interim manager Andy Green said the third baseman was dealing with “right ankle soreness” after taking several foul balls off his leg while the Mets were in Atlanta.
Bichette was healthy enough to pinch hit for Zack Short with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh of Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Red Sox at Citi Field.
He walked to load the bases before being removed for pinch runner Tyrone Taylor.
Green said Bichette was best used simply as a pinch hitter.
He could also sit Sunday as the team heads into the All-Star break.
“It’s a day-to-day thing,’’ Green said before the game. “He’s played through a lot. The guy is a warrior.”
Bichette has had an inconsistent season with the Mets after signing with the team in the offseason, but had been heating up recently.
In Atlanta, Bichette went 8-for-18 with a double over the four-game series.
But in three games since then, Bichette was just 2-for-13 before being held out of the lineup Friday and Saturday against the Red Sox.
Still, after opening the season with a .570 OPS in his first 61 games, Bichette put up an OPS of .870 in 33 games heading into Saturday.
With Bichette on the bench, the Mets used Brett Baty at third base again Saturday. Baty went 0-for-3 with a walk to snap his career-long hitting streak at 10 games.
Marcus Semien is “nearing a rehab assignment,” Green said before Saturday’s game. Semien has progressed well after being sidelined with a left hip-flexor strain since June 25.
Complicating matters is that the upcoming All-Star break will make minor league rehab games harder to find.
Green, who was the team’s senior vice president for player development until taking over in the dugout, said he’d be hesitant to play Semien — or any other player — in a Florida Complex League game due to the inconsistent pitching they’d see there.
Green said Semien was able to “run aggressively” and was moving around well, but might be held back by the lack of high-level rehab games.
The same could be true of Luis Robert Jr. (lumbar spine disc herniation).
He had a productive night at the plate with Double-A Binghamton in a rehab game Friday and is getting closer to being activated, according to Green.
The outfielder has been out since late April.
Robert’s return, whenever it happens, could give the Mets some decisions to make.
A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge have been two of the only bright spots.
The team is determined to keep Ewing in center field and not move him to second base outside of emergency situations, despite his ability to play there.
MEts merch shop
New York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.
Kodai Senga has pitched himself out of almost every role with the Mets, but there were some encouraging signs from his scoreless inning in relief in Friday’s loss. Green didn’t rule out using the right-hander in that capacity again.
“It’s something he’s unaccustomed to,” Green said. “We’ll see how he responds to those types of opportunities.”
Green added Senga, with his upper-90s velocity and forkball, “can be a back-end piece” in the pen, but the Mets will determine whether he’s able to handle the role physically.
“We’ll learn that in time,’’ Green said. “Kodai has a chance to be an elite starter and an elite back-end piece.”
The Mets announced right-hander Alex Carrillo was released from the major league roster while right-hander Matt Seelinger was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.