Bo Bichette held out of Mets’ lineup for second straight game with leg soreness

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Bichette was held out of the Mets’ lineup on Saturday for a second straight day because of soreness in his legs and right ankle, and the infielder may sit through the All-Star break.

“It’s a day to day thing,” manager Andy Green said before the Mets continued a three-game series with Boston. “If he’s feeling great tomorrow we’ll get him back out there. If not we’ll likely use the All-Star break to kind of get him a full reset.

Green said Bichette felt pain during last weekend’s series in Atlanta when he went 8 for 18 but also fouled balls off his legs.

“In Atlanta, he fouled some balls off of his legs, kind of beat his legs up a little bit, played through a lot; the guy’s a warrior,” Green said. “Legs are just overall sore, got some right ankle soreness, as well, coupled with that.”

Bichette went 0 for 3 in Thursday’s 7-3 win over Kansas City and is hitting .320 with two homers and 11 RBIs in his last 25 games.

Overall Bichette is hitting .256 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs in his first season with the Mets after seven seasons with the Blue Jays. He started this season by going 2-for-22 and was hitting .219 through the first two months.

The Mets signed Bichette to a $126 million, three-year contract in mid-January to play third base and he made the majority of his 44 starts at shortstop while Francisco Lindor was recovering from a calf strain. Bichette can opt out of the deal after the first or second season to become a free agent.

Marcus Semien nearing rehab assignment

Marcus Semien did some running Saturday after facing Clay Holmes in live batting practice on Friday and could start a rehab assignment soon as the second baseman recovers from a left hip flexor strain.

Semien’s rehab assignment may not occur until the end of the next week because the Mets’ Triple-A and Double-A teams are off during the All-Star break.

“Obviously, it’s tough timing with the All-Star break,” Green said. “Only games going on are in the FCL through the All-Star break and I’ve seen too many of those games in the last few years to feel great about putting our hitters in the batter’s box.”

Semien was placed on the 10-day injured list June 25 and has missed 16 games. Acquired from Texas for Brandon Nimmo in November, Semien is batting .214 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 80 games.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb