OF Travis Jankowski could return to Mets next week at Braves

The New York Mets are slowly but surely getting multiple figures back among active players ahead of the upcoming All-Star break. 

According to SNY and Anthony DiComo of the club's website, Mets manager Buck Showalter told reporters before the Wednesday evening game at the Cincinnati Reds that outfielder Travis Jankowski could return to the big-league club as soon as next week when New York plays a pivotal series at the division-rival Atlanta Braves from Monday through Wednesday. 

Jankowski has been away from the Mets since he suffered a left fourth metacarpal fracture on May 25 that required him to undergo surgery. It was said at the time he would miss roughly six to eight weeks, and the 31-year-old began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Monday. 

Jankowski was batting only .209 with no home runs, two RBI and 11 runs scored across 33 games before the injury. As Pat Ragazzo noted for FanNation's Inside the Mets, though, the fan-favorite had become a vital pinch-running option and late-game defensive replacement for the first-place Mets. 

New York, meanwhile, began Wednesday night holding just a two-and-a-half-game lead over the second-place Braves in the National League East standings.