Mets Notes: Dedniel Núñez closing in on return, early reports on Jeff McNeil in center

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza discusses a number of different topics prior to Friday night's game against the Cardinals...

Núñez back soon?

Dedniel Núñez continues working his way back to the club.

The hard-throwing right-hander took the ball again on Friday night for Triple-A Syracuse and put together another scoreless inning, striking out two as he worked around a pair of one-out walks.

He threw 28 pitches and now has posted a zero in three consecutive appearances.

Núñez won't throw on Friday, but it appears he could be closing in on a return to the Mets' bullpen very soon.

"He continues to do whatever we ask him to do," the skipper said. "Now it's just a matter of when do we call him up. He pitched last night, definitely down today, so we'll see what we have in the next couple of days."

Núñez was optioned to Syracuse at the end of spring training so that he could properly ramp up after suffering a pronator strain in his right forearm last August.

When healthy, he was one of the Mets' most effective relievers, pitching to a 2.31 ERA across 25 appearances.

New York's bullpen has been spectacular thus far, but there's no denying that getting him back in the mix would be another big boost.

McNeil impresses in center

Jeff McNeil got his first taste of center field on Friday night and looked strong.

The versatile defender played six innings for Single-A St. Lucie and made all of the plays that came his way, including an impressive sliding catch to lead off the game.

Mendoza likes what he heard from the early reports down in Florida.

"We all saw the play he made," he said. "Overall, I thought he played well. Talking to some of the guys there, he should be here today so I'll talk to him -- he's going to get checked out again before heading back to Binghamton. But the reports that we got, he looked really good."

It remains to be seen whether or not McNeil will receive time in center when he makes his return from the injured list, but he's been mentioned in the mix, along with Brandon Nimmo and Tyrone Taylor.

With McNeil closing in on a return, it means either Luisangel Acuña or Brett Baty could potentially find themselves back off the roster soon.

The youngsters struggled early, but they've picked things up of late -- making the decision even more difficult.

"We'll cross that bridge when he have to," Mendoza said. "It's going to be a very difficult decision, whether we decide to send one of them or we decide to keep both here because they're playing well -- I hope that's the case."

What Mets have learned about Kranick

Max Kranick didn't pitch for the Mets last season, but this year, he's quickly developed into a weapon.

The young right-hander has mastered the transition to the bullpen, building off his strong spring training to allow just two earned runs while striking out seven over his first seven appearances this season.

Mendoza has loved what he's seen from him thus far.

"He's a great kid, a competitor, wants to win," he said. "He's willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win baseball games. The biggest thing for me is his ability to bounce back. We've asked a lot out of him early on with his ability to throw multiple innings.

"After an off day I'll check with him and he's like, 'I'm ready to go if you need me.' On days where I'm probably trying to stay away from him, the fact that he's telling me, 'I'm ready if you need me to go,' that for me has been the biggest thing that I've learned from him. He's adjusting really well."

Because of his past injury troubles, the Mets will continue to monitor his workload moving forward.

But early on, Mendoza has been impressed with his willingness to take the ball whenever called upon.