CHICAGO — Upon further review, manager Terry Collins decided placing Curtis Granderson in center field — at least for the short term — wasn’t asking too much of the veteran outfielder.
Granderson was the starter in center for the Mets on Tuesday in their 2-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, a day after Collins expressed concern about using the 35-year-old outfielder in that spot.
Michael Conforto took balls in center during pregame drills for a second straight day, but Collins wasn’t about to thrust the second-year outfielder into a significant new challenge, just two days after he returned from Triple-A Las Vegas. Conforto instead made his first major league start in right field.
“I thought I would put the guy in center who has been there,” Collins said, referring to Granderson. “Michael has been playing right field in Vegas, so I am sure right now he’s a little comfortable. We just wanted to give him a few days of getting balls off the bat out there [in center]. And one I didn’t think was sufficient.”
The juggling comes as the Mets attempt to limit the mileage on Yoenis Cespedes’ legs by moving him from center to left field for potentially the remainder of the season. Cespedes has recently been bothered by discomfort in his right quadriceps and is less than 100 percent healthy. He made his third straight start in left field on Tuesday.
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Juan Lagares will start in center field against lefties and possibly see action against some righties.
Granderson appeared in two games last year in center field. As recently as 2012, he was full time at the position, playing 157 games in center for the Yankees.
Granderson, who drove in the Mets’ first run with a sacrifice fly, downplayed the idea that returning to center would be a challenge.
“When you play outfield, see the ball, catch it,” Granderson said. “That’s really it. I wish it could be more complicated than that, but there’s no reason to make it any more complicated than it is.”
Granderson said he wasn’t consulted by Collins before Tuesday’s lineup was posted, but that wasn’t necessary.
“Wherever they put me at — catch, short, pitch, outfield — I will play all of them,” Granderson said.
Collins said he expected Granderson’s stay in center to last only a few days.
“It’s not going to be for a long period of time,” Collins said. “I just thought, he’s done it here, he’s played center field. We continue to load up our young players’ plates pretty high. [Conforto] got sent out because he wasn’t hitting. Now he gets his swing back and he comes up and the first thing that hits him in the face is to play center field, so we’re going to ease him into it.”
Conforto, who is working with outfield coach Tom Goodwin on the position switch, played a limited amount of center field in college.
“I have played this game and played center field, just not at this level,” Conforto said. “I have played in the outfield, I know the flight of the ball, so I think just being an athletic person and just someone who really wants to go out there and make plays, it’s a good spot for me to be able to do that. I think it’s an opportunity, and I have just got to keep working on it.”
And if Conforto needs a tutorial, he’s got a Gold Glove winner to set an example.
“I can pay extra attention to what Lagares does out there,” Conforto said. “What better guy to watch do his thing out there than him?”
Granderson hosted a baseball clinic for more than 150 children from the Chicago Park District Summer Camp. He was joined by Jerry Blevins, Logan Verrett and Loney, among others. The stadium at the University of Illinois at Chicago — where the event was held — is named for Granderson, who grew up in the area.
