Mets hope Cespedes can avoid DL after having leg drained

Yoenis Cespedes had fluid drained from his wonky right leg ahead of Monday's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, but New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson remains optimistic the 30-year-old outfielder won't require a trip to the disabled list.

"At the moment we're looking at it on a day-by-day basis," Alderson told ESPN's Adam Rubin. "Fortunately we have the depth that we anticipated we would need, and so we've been able to survive his absence over the last several days. And I'm sure we'll do our best to survive over the next two or three. But, right now, I don't see it being a DL. That could change, obviously, with a different medical opinion as time goes on. But I don't see that."

Cespedes, who wasn't sent for an MRI after being examined Monday in Queens by team doctors, originally hurt his leg April 13 when he flew into the Citi Field stands in pursuit of a foul ball and aggravated his condition sliding into second base on Friday in Atlanta. Though Cespedes told reporters he felt "way better" ahead of Sunday's finale at Turner Field, Alderson conceded the former All-Star might miss all of his club's three-game set with the Reds.

"I don't know if you saw the swelling, but there are bruises that you get where there is a buildup of fluid," Collins said. "That can be very painful in that part of the leg. It got near the joint. That's why he was doing all the limping. ... If you would have (seen) the swelling, you would understand why he had no chance of playing."

With Cespedes potentially unavailable a little while longer, the Mets will likely continue to deploy Juan Lagares in center field, with Michael Conforto in left and Curtis Granderson in right. Despite missing the last two games, though, Cespedes still leads all Mets position players with 0.6 WAR so far, hitting .288/.364/.627 (163 wRC+) with five homers and three doubles through his first 15 contests.