Tyrone Taylor was placed on the 10-day IL because of the right hip flexor strain he suffered in Monday’s loss to the Reds, with Carlos Mendoza saying Tuesday the outfielder will likely be down for 2-3 weeks, as the injury doesn’t appear to be as severe as the Mets initially feared.

But instead of the loss of Taylor creating more of an opportunity for Nick Morabito, the Mets instead optioned the rookie outfielder to Triple-A Syracuse after Morabito went 0-for-11 with nine strikeouts following his call-up.

Mendoza said his message to Morabito, ranked as the organization’s No. 11 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was, “Continue to play. That’s the biggest thing. There’s a lot to like about the player. We saw flashes of his defense [and] his speed. He’s got to play every day. There’s no reason for him to be here playing once every two or three days. He got a taste and knows what it’s like at the big league level. We know how important he is to this organization.”

Mendoza added that he told Morabito, “We’ll see you back here.”

For now, though, the Mets prioritized having another right-handed bat off the bench, so they selected Eric Wagaman’s contract from Syracuse.

The 28-year-old Wagaman hit well at Triple-A after the Mets claimed him off waivers from the Twins last month. He pinch hit for Brett Baty and went hitless in the 7-2 loss to the Reds.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Wagaman, Luis Robert Jr. was moved to the 60-day IL, as he’s not close to returning from the lumbar spine disc herniation he’s been sidelined by for nearly a month.

The Mets did get one veteran hitter back Tuesday, as Jared Young returned from the IL. The lefty-swinger had been out since April 13 with a left meniscus tear.

A.J. Minter made his return Tuesday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

He struck out two in his first outing since a torn lat required season-ending surgery in April 2025.

Mendoza said he would use Minter in high-leverage situations and noted his fastball and cutter looked good.

Right-hander Jonathan Pintaro was optioned to Syracuse to open a spot for Minter.

Juan Soto was back in the lineup after being sidelined the previous two games with an illness and homered for the fifth time in his past six games.

Craig Kimbrel was signed to a major league deal by the Rays on Tuesday after being designated for assignment by the Mets on Friday.

The Mets entered Tuesday ranked 22nd in the majors with 29 stolen bases, but they’d also been thrown out 14 times- tied for 10th-most.

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“At times we’ve been ultra-aggressive,” Mendoza said. “We haven’t been able to get the best jumps when we need to.”

Mendoza said the lack of success at times has been due to opposing catchers but added, “We have to be better, obviously. But that’s part of the development and younger players trusting the information given to them.”

A.J. Ewing, one of the fastest players on the team, had been thrown out three times and stolen just three bases, while Carson Benge has been better, with nine swipes while being caught just twice.