Mets Morning News: Reyes Return, Nimmo Begins Mets Career, Benches Clear

Yesterday, Jose Reyes tested his strained hamstring and while he said it has improved, it is unlikely he will be able to return when first eligible on Tuesday. Terry Collins seemed pleased with the update, Reyes not as much.

“Things are going great,” Collins said before today’s game against the San Diego Padres. “He’s anxious for us to get back, but he’s been swinging, he’s been hitting, catching ground balls, throwing. Doing some lateral exercises, some lateral things.”

“My confidence running-wise wasn’t there,” Reyes said. “Any time you have problems with your hamstring, you’re not going to get confidence back right away. It is what it is. Now I try to be healthy, get on the field and finish strong.”

Brandon Nimmo, the Mets first round pick who signed Monday at midnight, made his Mets debut last night, going 1-6 with a run scored.

“The Mets most recent first round pick, Brandon Nimmo made his professional debut Friday, going 1-for-6 with a single and a run scored for the Gulf Coast League team. Considering he didn’t sign until Monday at midnight, just impressed to see him playing in a game in under a week.  So that’s good.  Hey, it’s nice he got a hit in his professional debut.”

In the eighth inning of last night’s game, Tim Byrdak and Prince Fielder exchanged some words that led to both benches clearing. No punches were thrown.

"It was just a miscommunication," Byrdak said. "He had said something coming out of the box that I thought was directed toward me. I said something back. When he hit first base, he came back and asked me who I was talking to. I asked him who he was talking to. He said he was talking to himself. I said OK and I started walking toward the dugout and I see everybody hopping the [dugout] fence to go back out . . . I was real surprised."

Fielder: "He said something I didn't like. So I just asked him. I think we got it settled." Fielder continued: "Yeah, I was talking to myself." And asked why he approached Byrdak, Fielder said, "I had a question I had to get off my chest."