More problems for Robinson Cano as Mets place second baseman on injured list

The Mets announced Monday that they’ve placed second baseman Robinson Cano on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring. 

Fellow infielder Luis Guillorme is up from Triple A to take Cano's spot on the roster. The Mets also officially named right-hander Walker Lockett the 26th man for today’s doubleheader against the Marlins. He’ll start the second game of that twin bill.

Cano, 36, has had a poor overall season in his first year with the Mets but had been heating up of late. Though he’s hitting just .252/.295/.415 through 346 plate appearances, Cano turned in four consecutive multi-hit games prior to the hamstring injury, which was sustained on what looked to be his third double of Sunday’s game. 

Cano erupted for a three-homer game on July 23 but collected just two hits in seven games between that and the beginning of his recent multi-hit streak.

It’s the third time this season that Cano has landed on the 10-day injured list. The Mets didn’t give an indication as to the severity of the strain or any type of expected timeline for his return. In his absence, the Mets can shift Jeff McNeil to second base and play Juan Lagares or Aaron Altherr more in the outfield. 

If the preference is to keep McNeil in the outfield, Cano’s reps at second base can be divided among Guillorme and Adeiny Hechavarria. It’s likely that some combination of those scenarios will be used to cover second base while Cano is out. He joins Brandon Nimmo, Jed Lowrie, Dominic Smith and Yoenis Cespedes as Mets position players on the injured list.