Mets’ Conforto trying to get back on track with 51s

If all goes as planned, Michael Conforto’s stay in Las Vegas shouldn’t be too long.

The New York Mets sent Conforto, their 2014 first-round pick, down to Triple-A on Saturday amid a nearly two-month slump so he could right himself, but the hope is that he can figure his swing out and regain a roster spot soon.

“It’s easy to send someone down here to kind of clear their mind. … New York is a tough place to play, but it’s the best place to play,” 51s manager Wally Backman said. “I think he’s going to be fine. I think he’s going to hit, and I don’t think he’ll be here very long.”

Conforto woke up at 5:45 a.m. in Atlanta on Sunday, flew to Las Vegas and went 1-for-3 with a single to right in his first at-bat, a walk and a run scored in his first 51s game.

After hitting .270 as a rookie last year with the Mets, Conforto began the season by hitting .365 in April. Since then, he’s hit .148.

Backman said from watching on TV, he noticed Conforto had gotten pull-conscious and had gone away from his strengths.

“I’m just not using the whole field as much as I was, and that could be due to swinging at certain pitches, not swinging at certain pitches, it could be my approach,” Conforto said. “We are going to work on some things mechanically, maybe widen up a little bit, try to get a little bit more rhythm and get onto my backside a little bit more. Stuff like that. Little things, and it’s a lot easier to work on those things here than it is in New York.”

That process started Sunday.

“He was preset forward. He starts off in a square stance and then he presents forward and then he tries to load, but he’s never getting back to even 50/50 and you’ve got to get your weight on your backside to at least 60 percent,” Backman said. “He was just trying to make in-game adjustments to try to find himself.”

And once he does find himself, he’ll find his way back to New York.

“It feels like you’re fighting an uphill battle there at times,” Conforto said. “I always felt confident there. I always felt like I was going to come out of it, but I think people who make the decisions made the decision to send me down (because) they felt that it would be a little bit easier for me to come out of this at this level, so I’ll take it as an opportunity to come out of it and hopefully get back up there as soon as possible.”

INJURY UPDATES

The 51s are expecting to get back a key piece of their lineup back this week.

Backman said T.J. Rivera, who pulled his right hamstring in a game June 14, ran the bases at 100 percent Saturday and would run the bases again Monday.

If all goes well, Backman said there was a “good possibility,” Rivera would be activated for Tuesday’s series finale against Sacramento.

Rivera was hitting .363 with 52 RBIs in 60 games at the time of his injury.

“He probably could be activated right now, but I want, for a hamstring, I want to wait a few extra days,” Backman said.

Meanwhile, Backman said they are hoping starter Robert Gsellman will be ready to pitch by the end of the next homestand.

Gsellman, one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects, has been dealing with a quad injury and started just one game for the 51s, on June 11.

“When he got here, he tried to get off the mound on a bunt, and he really couldn’t do it because it was bothering him,” Backman said. “He said it didn’t bother him to pitch, but to move laterally and to run hard on it, it bothered him. We’re being extra cautious to try to make sure he’s absolutely 100 percent.”

Right now, the 51s are targeting a July 8 doubleheader as his return date.

CATCHER PLAYING TIME

With Kevin Plawecki joining the 51s from New York this week, Backman now has three catchers — Plawecki, Johnny Monell and Nevin Ashley — on his active roster to juggle.

“I have three catchers that need to play in my opinion,” Backman said. “All three of them deserve playing time.”

Plawecki, who was drafted by the Mets in the supplemental first round in 2012, is the priority, and Backman said he’d play at least five games a week — likely four behind the plate.

All three will see time at first base, too. As a result, first baseman Marc Krauss might make some appearances at corner outfield positions.

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand