PITTSBURGH — Yoenis Cespedes is on the brink of returning to the Mets.
The All-Star outfielder began the final step in his rehab from a strained left hamstring Friday, when he played six innings in left field for Single-A St. Lucie.
He went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored before coming out for a defensive replacement in the seventh inning.
“It was good to get back on the field today,” Cespedes said in a statement. “It’s been really hard being away from the team. I look forward to hopefully getting back to New York soon.”
Indications are Cespedes might rejoin the Mets as soon as Monday, after appearing in an additional rehab game with St. Lucie.
Cespedes spent the past week concentrating on running drills to ensure his legs are ready for the base paths and the grind of playing the outfield. Cespedes has been on the disabled list since April 28 with the hamstring strain.
Asdrubal Cabrera returned to shortstop, a day after his activation from the disabled list. With Cabrera back, Jose Reyes was shifted to third base — a position at which he has struggled most of the season.
Cabrera went 1-for 5 with a strikeout, while Reyes also went 1-for-5 with a triple and scored twice in the Mets’ 8-1 win over the Pirates.
“One of the things Jose provides for us is energy, and that helps to have that kind of energy on the field,” manager Terry Collins said.
Seth Lugo was placed on the 60-day disabled list to clear space on the 40-man roster for Tyler Pill. The move is backdated to the start of the season, keeping Lugo eligible for return from the DL in the coming days.
Lugo and Steven Matz are scheduled to make rehab starts for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday and could return to the Mets later in the week.
Michael Conforto, who went 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, entered play leading the National League in slugging percentage (.716) for May and was tied for the most runs scored (24). He was second in on-base percentage (.454) and tied for third in RBIs (19).