As the Mets enter the second half tonight, Edgardo Alfonzo’s back still isn’t fully recovered and it won’t be until he takes three months off.
These were the findings of former Met team doctor David Altchek earlier this week.
So with the Mets starting this second half with little hope of getting back in the race and with Bobby Valentine ending the first half by saying he doesn’t see Alfonzo taking his regular cut, why doesn’t Alfonzo just shut it down for the rest of the year?
“It’s not going to get worse,” Alfonzo’s agent Peter Greenberg told The Post.
Steve Phillips added, “[Altchek’s] not recommending that by any means.”
Both Greenberg and Phillips looked at Altchek’s diagnosis as good news that should ease Alfonzo’s mind. Like current team doctor, Andrew Rokito, Altchek thinks Alfonzo just has torn cartilage in his lower back and said that Alfonzo won’t do further damage by playing. Both ruled out surgery.
“Next year, [Alfonzo will] be back to normal,” Greenberg said. “The most important thing is there is nothing that is going to get worse structurally.”
Alfonzo will soon start working with a physical therapist to try to reduce discomfort. The pain occurs when he twists, which obviously affects his swing.
Alfonzo wanted Altcheck to look at his MRI results because he felt comfortable with his prognosis as he was the Mets’ doctor when Alfonzo arrived in the majors.
Even after returning from the disabled list a little more than a week ago, Alfonzo hasn’t been fully comfortable at the plate. Rokito had thought the pain would cease with the more than two weeks’ rest, but Alfonzo’s still hurting.
He is just 1-for-20 since returning from the DL. Overall, Alfonzo is hitting .233 with nine homers and 25 RBIs.
Phillips said he can’t “foresee” Alfonzo being shut down at any point this season – even if the Mets are mathematically eliminated.
“I don’t anticipate it will get to that point,” Phillips said