Brett Baty was diagnosed with a mild left groin strain Thursday and is considered day-to-day after being removed from Wednesday’s 11-1 win over Arizona.
The Mets had summoned Danny Mendick from Syracuse if Baty had needed an injured list stint, but an MRI scan showed just the small strain.
Baty had been in the midst of a brutal stretch at the plate and was hitless in 18 plate appearances before picking up a pair of singles Wednesday.
With Baty out of the lineup, Mark Vientos was back at third on Thursday.
Hot-hitting rookie Ronny Mauricio was out of the lineup for a second straight game due to an illness, although Buck Showalter said Mauricio was feeling better and would be available off the bench Thursday — although he wasn’t needed in the Mets’ win and likely will be back in the lineup Friday.
Showalter has said repeatedly Mauricio will get time at different positions after playing second base, third, shortstop and left field in the minors this year, but he’s so far only played second in the majors — and played it well.
The switch-hitting Mauricio also has impressed at the plate, where he has a .787 OPS after hitting his first major league homer on Tuesday.
Anthony Kay, the Mets’ first-round pick in the 2016 amateur draft, is back in the organization after the team claimed the left-hander off waivers from the Cubs on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.
Kay, 28, is a Long Island native and was part of the package the Mets sent to Toronto at the trade deadline in 2019 in exchange for Marcus Stroman.
He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays last offseason and appeared in 13 games with Chicago this season, with a 6.35 ERA over 11 ¹/₃ innings.
The Cubs designated Kay on Monday in order to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for another former Mets prospect, outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The Mets first drafted Kay out of Ward Melville High School on Long Island in the 29th round in 2013, but Kay attended UConn instead and the Mets selected him again with the 31st overall pick in 2016.
He underwent Tommy John surgery after the 2016 minor league season and returned in 2018 before being shipped to Toronto — along with Simeon Woods Richardson.
Kay has never pitched in more than 13 games in a major league season.
Edwin Diaz threw off the mound at Citi Field before Thursday’s game, as he continues to recover from the knee injury that has sidelined him all season.
He will travel with the team when the Mets go to Miami next week and could face hitters at their minor league complex in nearby Port St. Lucie, Fla. … Brandon Nimmo, who was shifted to left field Wednesday because of “wear and tear,” according to Showalter, was back in center on Thursday.
The heart of the lineup — outside of Pete Alonso — didn’t do enough to keep the Mets in the playoff race, but some of them are finishing well.
In addition to Alonso having an OPS of 1.107 in September, Jeff McNeil is hitting .307 over his last 35 games and Nimmo has an OPS of 1.080 in his last 15 games.
“There’s gonna be a return for what they’re doing, down the road,’’ Showalter said of the veteran hitters. “The example they set.”
Before the game, the Mets honored 96-year-old Maybelle Blair, a pioneer in women’s baseball who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
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