Mets 2B Robinson Cano, who returned to Summer Camp on Tuesday after an absence of roughly one week, said Thursday that he's going to keep the reason for the absence to himself.
"I had some personal issues that I would like to keep to myself. ... I want to thank the team for understanding," Cano said during a Zoom call with reporters. "I'm back, I'm focused now so I can play the game and help this team to win games."
Asked if he would be ready for Opening Day, Cano -- who was home in the Dominican Republic with his family while he was away from the team -- said "for sure," though he later couched that by saying Opening Day was his goal.
Cano has his own field at home in the Dominican, and said he was able to get his work in and stay in shape while he was there.
His hope is to get roughly 20 to 25 more at-bats between now and the end of camp. The Mets plan to play intrasquad games Thursday and Friday, followed by exhibition games against the Yankees on Saturday and Sunday.
If Cano is not ready for Opening Day, there are a number of different lineup scenarios the Mets can explore.
One of the easiest scenarios would be to slide Jeff McNeil from third base to second base and use J.D. Davis at third base. If Yoenis Cespedes is able to handle left field, he could take over there. If not, the Mets could use Cespedes at DH and use either Jake Marisnick or Dominic Smith in the outfield, among other options.
