During Spring Training, the Mets seemed to be going down the same path they always do with their handling of Yoenis Cespedes‘ wrist.  He had soreness in the wrist, and the tried to play through it.  Finally, he would get a cortisone shot and miss some games.  Considering how he has started the season, a crisis was clearly averted.  However, it did seem like the injury and how it was handled was a little too reminiscent of how things were handled under the old regime.

Over the last few seasons, the Mets had a culture where they either pressured players to play through potentially serious injuries, or they allowed players to push through without a proper examination.  We saw it time and time again.

Cespedes has sat around for days and weeks before being placed on the disabled list.  Last year, even with the Mets admitting Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler were not at complete strength, they began the year in the rotation, and eventually, they went down with stress reactions.  The Mets were quite vocal in their criticisms about how Steven Matz needed to pitch through this injuries, and in the last two seasons, we have seen him undergo season ending surgeries.

Perhaps the biggest indication there needed to be a change was the Mets handling of Noah Syndergaard last year.  After being scratched from a start with what was believed to be biceps tendinitis, Syndergaard refused to get an MRI.  In his next start, he lasted just 1.1 innings before having to leave the game with a torn lat.  The injury cost him almost four months, and really, it helped cost the Mets the 2017 season.

Something had to change, and the Mets did so at least on paper bringing in new personnel with different ideas on how to both prevent and treat injuries.

Considering the Mets past history coupled with the somewhat questionable handling of Cespedes’ wrist injury in Spring Training, it really made how the Mets were going to handle Anthony Swarzak‘s injury an important test case.

As initially noted by Tim Britton of The Athletic, the Mets did not initially schedule any tests for Swarzak.  Theoretically, those test would not even be needed as Swarzak reportedly feeling better the next day.  And yet, in a complete change from how things were handled previously, the Mets scheduled a precautionary MRI on Swarzak.

While the reports were Swarzak “only” had a sore left oblique, the team put him on the disabled list and called up Hansel Robles.

Precautionary exams.  Putting players on the disabled list immediately.  Having a full 25 man roster available for each game.  This is a stark contrast to how injuries used to be handled with the Mets, and it is hope we will not see a repeat of the injuries which befell the Mets over the last three seasons.

As the Mets broke camp and began the season, it seemed like this year was going to be different.  Seeing how Swarzak’s injury was handled, things really might be different.