Both players are looking to return from injuries suffered during spring training

The Mets could be getting two of their regulars back in the lineup before long. Before today’s game, Carlos Mendoza revealed that Francisco Alvarez is slated to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow in Port St. Lucie, with Jeff McNeil traveling to Florida and starting one later this week. Neither player has appeared in a regular season game so far this season. The goal for McNeil (and, presumably, Alvarez as well) is a return before the end of April.

Both Alvarez and McNeil were spotted on the field today taking batting practice for the first time since their injuries. According to Anthony DiComo, the pair had previously been limited solely to indoor work. Alvarez has been sidelined since undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his left hamate bone in early March, while McNeil has been on the shelf since mid-March due to a low-grade right oblique strain.

This is big news for a Mets’ offense that has struggled at this early juncture of the season. To date, the Mets have scored 35 runs and have posted a .648 OPS as a team, both of which rank 12th among NL squads. Meanwhile, their 88 wRC+ is 9th in the NL and their .206 batting average is second-to-last in the league.

The bottom of the Mets’ lineup has especially struggled. At second, the Mets are getting little-to-no production from Brett Baty (.095/.095/.143, -37 wRC+, -0.2 fWAR) and Luisangel Acuña (.118/.211/.176, 19 wRC+, -0.1 fWAR), who have taken turns stepping in for McNeil. Behind the plate, the Mets have gotten admirable contributions from Luis Torrens (.300/.333/.500, 149 wRC+, 0.4 fWAR) but he is dealing with his own injury and is out of the lineup for the fourth straight day. Hayden Sengar has been catching in Torrens’ absence, with Tyrone Taylor serving as the emergency backup.