New York Mets first baseman Jared Young will miss the remainder of the season after a concussion suffered in a terrifying collision with pitcher Nolan McLean during Thursday night’s 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.
The play came in the sixth inning with New York trailing 1-0. Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford hit a slow roller toward first. McLean left the mound as Young first retreated to the bag. McLean hesitated, and Young reached for the ball with his right hand while trying to keep a foot on the base.
McLean then continued and his knee struck Young in the head. Young fell face-first and lay motionless.
Trainers immobilized Young’s neck and carted him off the field. He later gave a thumbs-up to the crowd. A hospital CT scan was negative, and he retained full use of his extremities. He was discharged overnight.
Interim manager Andy Green said Friday that Young was home and doing as well as could be hoped given the scene the night before. Tests produced encouraging results.
Young is dealing with headaches and some short-term memory loss but has kept his sense of humor. Green said the club is optimistic about a full recovery and has no concerns about him playing again.
“Very optimistic about recovery and continuing to play going forward,” Green said, via ESPN. “There’s no concerns in that space.”
The Mets placed Young on the seven-day concussion injured list and recalled infielder Ronny Mauricio from Triple-A Syracuse. Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Christopher Morel are expected to share first base over the final stretch.
Young, 31, hit .266 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs in 103 games in his first full major league season after missing six weeks earlier with a left knee injury. The collision ends a surprise year in which he became a regular at first base.
