HOUSTON — Jeff McNeil is swinging a bat in the early stages of his comeback from a right oblique strain.
The Mets second baseman, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, began hitting off a tee on Friday with a goal of soon progressing to soft toss.
Initial indications were McNeil would be ready by mid-to-late April, but Mendoza on Saturday declined to set a timetable.
“Oblique injuries are tricky, I don’t want to put a timetable here,” Mendoza said, noting that it’s difficult to gauge where McNeil is physically until he begins taking live batting practice with his ‘A’ swings.
Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña are receiving action at second base with McNeil sidelined.
Sean Manaea (oblique) is throwing from 90 feet, according to Mendoza.
The left-hander will need a full spring training buildup once he returns to a mound.
That process will likely take at least a month.
Francisco Alvarez has begun catching drills, according to Mendoza.
Alvarez, who is rehabbing from surgery for a broken hamate bone in his left hand, is expected to remain on the injured list into early May.
Among the Mets’ final roster decisions last week was whether Max Kranick would be part of the bullpen following a strong showing in spring training.
Mendoza had a little fun with the right-hander upon telling him he was on the team.
“I was pretty serious at the beginning, so he didn’t know which way I was going to go,” Mendoza said before the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Astros. “Until I finally said, ‘You’re on the team.’ You could see the sense of relief and the smile on his face.”
Kranick pulled a hamstring last year in spring training that removed him from the mix and was converted from a starter to reliever at Triple-A Syracuse — a switch he didn’t initially embrace.
The right-hander previously missed extensive time rehabbing from Tommy John surgery with the Pirates.
“And for him to be here on Opening Day, he needed to be proud,” Mendoza said. “We were all proud of him.”
Kranick entered with the bases loaded in the eighth inning Saturday for his Mets debut and got the final two outs without a run scoring.
The Mets were looking for their first series victory against the Astros since 2014.
This was the fifth series between the teams since then.
