As the Cyclones are struggling to stay in the race for a playoff spot, Zach Lutz, one of their key players, remains on the disabled list.
The third baseman was the Mets’ fifth-round draft pick last year, but played in only the season opener before having to leave the game with a broken foot, first injured before the Cyclones’ season.
After an off-season of rehabilitation, the foot seemed to be healed enough for him to open this season with the Cyclones.
But it wasn’t, and a resulting quad injury — probably caused by compensation for the original foot injury — caused Lutz to be placed on the disabled list, and he was sent to the Mets’ Port St. Lucie complex for more rehab midway through the Cyclones’ season.
In 24 games for Brooklyn, Lutz was leading the Cyclones in hitting at .333, and he had three homers and 12 RBI in 72 at-bats.
“I’m doing all right,” said Lutz in a recent phone interview with The Brooklyn Paper. “I’ll go back to the doctors soon, one doctor for the quad and one for the foot.”
But Lutz didn’t believe he would be playing any more this year.
“I’m in a walking boot now,” he said. “I want to play so bad, but everyone says that I have to look at this long term.”
Although Lutz didn’t play in any games, he had been doing a lot of work in Port St. Lucie.
“I’ve been taking batting practice, taking ground balls and throwing. I was doing sprints, and then my foot swelled up.”
Lutz didn’t feel that he’d be ready for the Instructional League, which begins play in Florida in mid-September.
“I don’t know. I think I’ll be resting and undergoing rehabilitation. I’ll be staying off it [the right foot].”
Lutz could be back at Keyspan Park soon, but not as a player.
“I’ll probably be going home [near Reading, Pennsylvania] soon,” he said. “It’s only a few hours trip to Brooklyn, so after I come home, I might be going to Brooklyn to see a few games.”
Cyclones’ fans would rather have him on the field, but will have to understand that his long-term interests mean that for Lutz, it’s “Wait ’til next year.”
