CHICAGO -- Yoenis Cespedes receives a day off Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, even though the New York Mets are in a dogfight trying to qualify for the postseason and the team already has Thursday off.
Manager Terry Collins insisted it is prudent to give Cespedes the consecutive days off entering a big road series against the Miami Marlins this weekend.
Cespedes returned Sunday after nursing a strained right quadriceps for more than a week. He still has lingering issues with the muscle and is 1-for-10 in three games since re-entering the lineup.
Collins has already implemented a plan to restrict Cespedes to left field. Cespedes had been playing center field against right-handed pitching since joining the Mets last Aug. 1.
"We know his leg is, by far, not close to being 100 percent," Collins said. "You saw it last night. We saw it last night. It's going to be hot today. We do not need him to blow that out in a day game after a night game, especially with a day off tomorrow. So we thought the extra day might help him. It's not going to make him 100 percent, but it's got to get him better.
"That [Miami] Florida outfield is tough. That's a tough place to play. We need to get him as healthy as we can before we run him out there."
