NEW YORK -- The New York Mets have promoted outfielder Juan Lagares from Triple-A Las Vegas and sent down outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis to their top minor league team.
The 24-year-old Lagares has never played in the majors. He took a redeye flight and was at Citi Field for Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Manager Terry Collins said Lagares wouldn't start right away against former NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, but would be in the lineup Wednesday night. Lagares has played all three outfield spots and Collins said he was an excellent fielder.
Lagares was hitting .346 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 17 games at Las Vegas.
Nieuwenhuis was hitting .125 with one RBI in 13 games. He has struck out eight times in 16 at-bats, and Collins said Nieuwenhuis needs to learn a better two-strike approach to make more contact.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press
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