Mets' Robinson Cano is improving but still might need to return to injured list

Robinson Cano was out of the lineup, again, but he felt good in his pregame workout, again. And the Mets still don’t know if his left quadriceps strain is serious enough to require another trip to the injured list.

Manager Mickey Callaway indicated the Mets will make an IL decision Sunday morning if he isn’t healthy enough to play.

“It’s progressing,” Cano said Saturday night after the Mets beat the Rockies, 5-3. “You see what happened [a re-injury] last time, and you don’t want to rush into it. We feel better. We just have to keep pushing.”

Saturday was the third straight game Cano missed after reinjuring his left quadriceps Wednesday, his first game back from the IL. He has been in a holding pattern of uncertainty since.

Well before batting practice, Cano went through a full regimen to test his leg: fielding grounders, swinging, running from home to second. Callaway said Cano “continues to feel confident that he can run down the line.”

“I think there’s improvement,” Callaway said. “He felt really good too, but I think there was minimal improvement. There’s not much more to improve upon. But he felt really good.”

Wilson getting close

Lefthander Justin Wilson (left elbow soreness) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday — with an affiliate to be decided — after a successful live BP session against J.D. Davis, Juan Lagares and Tomas Nido.

That was Wilson’s first time facing hitters since May 6. Onlookers included chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

Wilson has pitched in one game since April 19 because of two stints on the IL with the same injury. This time, though, after a longer layoff, he is feeling better.

“It feels a lot better than last time,” Wilson said. “Truthfully, I felt good enough to pitch [last month] or I wouldn’t have come off. This time around, it feels really fresh. Mechanically, I wasn’t doing great today, as is to be expected after — besides a couple sides — I hadn’t cranked it up. I felt really good.”

The Mets’ bullpen has missed Wilson, who was attractive to the Mets as a free agent in part because he has been so durable. He had never before been on the IL, and from 2013-18, he averaged more than 67 games per season (with a 3.34 ERA), plus playoffs some seasons.

Mets relievers had an 11.01 ERA in their past 10 games entering play Saturday. On the season, they have a 5.19 ERA, which ranks 26th in the majors.   

Nimmo facing new test

Brandon Nimmo (bulging disc) had a scheduled day off Saturday during his rehab assignment with advanced Class A St. Lucie. He is 2-for-7 with a triple, a walk and a strikeout in two games as the designated hitter.

The next step — playing the outfield — will be a tougher test for Nimmo, who has been on the IL since May 22 after dealing with a stiff neck off and on for more than a month.

“Swinging was never really an issue,” Callaway said. “Just more getting out in the field, how to turn and look back and things like that. They’re going to evaluate, see if he’s good to go and maybe play in the field [Sunday] if all is good.”   

Extra bases

As the Rockies went through their pregame stretch Saturday, Jacob deGrom made a point of going over to Ian Desmond, an apparent effort to smooth things over after their on-field tiff during the benches-clearing excitement Friday night. After that game, deGrom called it “just a misunderstanding,” saying he had no problem with Desmond . . . Among those at Citi Field Saturday: unemployed manager Joe Girardi, who was calling the game for Fox.