{"id":636059,"date":"2026-03-21T22:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T22:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/636059\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T22:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T22:02:16","slug":"mets-mike-tauchman-to-undergo-mri-for-knee-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/636059\/","title":{"rendered":"Mets&#8217; Mike Tauchman to undergo MRI for knee issue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PORT ST. LUCIE \u2014 Mike Tauchman\u2019s bid to secure a spot on the Mets\u2019 Opening Day roster may have hit a snag.<\/p>\n<p>The veteran outfielder departed Saturday\u2019s 7-5 exhibition loss to the Astros with left knee discomfort and was to receive an MRI exam, according to manager Carlos Mendoza.<\/p>\n<p>Mendoza added that it was unclear if Tauchman\u2019s injury was related to his collision with the right field fence early in the game. <\/p>\n<p>Tauchman appeared uncomfortable after the play, and in the following inning, stopped in pain as he left the dugout.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe felt something and just came back in and went inside with the trainer, so I am not sure how it happened,\u201d Mendoza said.<\/p>\n<p>Tauchman\u2019s status is among the final decisions the team is facing in finalizing the 26-man roster for Opening Day.<\/p>\n<p>Tauchman, Carson Benge, Vidal Brujan and Jared Young are essentially the four position players that <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/05\/sports\/mike-tauchman-proving-hes-more-than-mets-insurance-policy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">appear in the mix for two roster spots<\/a>. The Mets also have one bullpen spot open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know what we\u2019re dealing with, but anytime you send somebody for an MRI there is a bit of a concern,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cBut we have just got to see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38854987\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260228_MetsNationals_CS041.jpg\" alt=\"New York Mets\u0092 Mike Tauchman hits a double in the third inning against the Washington Nationals during Spring Training Clover Field, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Port St. Lucie, FL. \" class=\"wp-image-38854987\"  \/>Mike Tauchman is set to undergo an MRI for a knee issue. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n<p>Benge, the organization\u2019s top position player prospect, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/20\/sports\/joel-shermans-3-things-i-think-bo-bichette-betting-on-carson-benge\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">could be the team\u2019s starting right fielder<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The Mets have Tyrone Taylor as a backup outfield option, and Tauchman has battled for a job \u2014 potentially as the starter if Benge isn\u2019t added to the roster.<\/p>\n<p>If the Mets keep five outfielders, they would begin the season without a backup shortstop beyond Bo Bichette, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/20\/sports\/bo-bichette-gets-uneventful-return-to-shortstop-as-mets-plan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">who could move over from third base if needed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Francisco Alvarez returned to the lineup after leaving Thursday\u2019s game with back tightness.<\/p>\n<p>Jonah Tong, on loan from minor league camp, allowed three earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts over 4 1\/3 innings against the Astros. <\/p>\n<p>The right-hander, who began the spring in major league camp, has pitched to a 7.71 ERA in the Grapefruit League.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE \u2014 Mike Tauchman\u2019s bid to secure a spot on the Mets\u2019 Opening Day roster may&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,101,6647,4,1690,61,2548,4203,185,151],"class_list":["post-636059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-mets","tag-baseball","tag-mets","tag-mike-tauchman","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-mets","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkmets","tag-sports","tag-spring-training"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116269427005168678","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}