NY Mets Postseason 2015: OF Yoenis Cespedes Gets Hit by Pitch, X-Rays Negative

New York Mets fans can breathe a sigh of relief!

Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who was hit in the hand by a pitch from Philadelphia Phillies reliever Justin De Fratus, did not sustain any serious damage. The Mets revealed that the slugger's X-rays all came back negative. Cespedes was diagnosed with a contusion on his ring and middle fingers.

"When I first got hit, I felt a lot of pain," Cespedes said via a team spokesman. "I didn't think it was that bad right away, but I was relieved when the X-rays came back negative."

"The first thing flashes through your mind is if he's out, how are you going to align things, who would hit where," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "If he's gone, how are we going to fill that hole. If Juan (Uribe's) out and he's out, we've got, all the sudden, a couple of big bats out of the lineup. We got a long way to go before we have to use him."

Fortunately for the Mets, they do not have to worry about reworking their lineup right before postseason is about to start because they are hopeful that Cespedes will be able to play this weekend. Cespedes reportedly told Collins that he would be good to go for Thursday's game - the finale of the series. Collins, however, thought it would be better to rest him for at least one game.

"That's always a scary place when you get hit," Collins said. "We'll give him a day tomorrow and let his hand heal up a little bit and get him ready for the weekend. We were very relieved that he's OK."

The Mets clinched the National League East after beating the Cincinnati Reds 10-2 this past Saturday.

The NLDS stars on Fri., Oct. 9 on TBS.