MIAMI — J.D. Davis received a break from the starting lineup last weekend to work on his swing, but he admitted Wednesday there was more involved than just needing a mental vacation.
The left hand injury that cost the Mets third baseman more than two months on the injured list “flared up” in the last week, according to Davis, causing him to take a step back.
“It’s going to be a nagging thing that is going to be going on all year,” Davis told The Post before the Mets faced the Marlins.
Davis tore two ligaments in the hand (including one off the bone) on a swing in late April and was subsequently placed on the IL. He didn’t return to the Mets until the team’s first game following the All-Star break, on July 16.
He said doctors have told him the hand is roughly 90-95 percent healed, but there will be occasional inflammations that could inhibit his swing. Such was the case last week, prompting the Mets to remove the slumping Davis from the starting lineup for their weekend series against the Reds.
Davis said anti-inflammatories have been prescribed for the swelling and he’s feeling better this week. Davis started the previous two games against the Marlins (he went 1-for-3 in each), but was on the bench Wednesday as manager Luis Rojas opted for an additional left-handed bat in the lineup and started Jonathan Villar at third base.
“For now it’s doing good,” Davis said, referring to his hand, adding that he’s been told he won’t need surgery.
Davis entered the day with a .229/.327/.417 slash line with two homers and five RBIs since his return. That performance has coincided with the Mets struggling as a unit, with their lead in the NL East shrinking to 1 ½ games during an 8-11 stretch to begin the second half.
“We are staying afloat,” Davis said. “We just got a little carried away since the All-Star break and hit a little bit of a slump, but these guys are pretty good, too. This division, this whole National League, is pretty good, so I totally believe in us.”
Davis pointed to Carlos Carrasco’s recent return to the rotation — the veteran right-hander on Wednesday started his second game for the Mets — and the expectations that Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard will return in September.
The Mets acquired Javier Baez at the trade deadline from the Cubs, and Davis said the All-Star shortstop’s presence has reinvigorated the lineup, even if the results haven’t shown it.
“I know he has a lot of swing-and-miss in his swing, but it gives us a little more energy knowing he’s up there taking his ‘A’ swing,” Davis said. “He may get fooled or strike out, but it reminds everybody just to not only go up there and try to hit a single, but try to do some damage.
“Sure, with two strikes shorten up and put the ball in play, but I think we all got away from [driving the ball] in just trying to put the ball in play, so [Baez] has kind of set that bar, kind of helped us offensively to be more aggressive and swing a little harder.”
Davis credited Pete Alonso, who entered play with seven homers since the All-Star break, for largely carrying the lineup.
“He’s back to doing 2019 Pete,” Davis said. “In 2020 he got away from it and he just got away from his legs and that is where most of his power is from and now you start to see it.
“He’s getting way more into his legs and he’s getting into that front heel, which helps him rotate more to that pull side, because of that he’s been consistent, physically and mentally. I think it’s been pretty cool to watch him and make that adjustment and get back on track to where he was in 2019.”
