Mets put Duda on DL with stress fracture in back

5:57 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Lucas Duda landed on the disabled list with a stress fracture in his lower back on Monday, forcing New York Mets officials to become creative in order to plug the hole at first base.

Manager Terry Collins indicated that outfielder Michael Conforto will begin working out at the position. Collins even got a receptive response from third baseman David Wright to moving across the diamond, although that is not in the immediate plans.

Duda had a follow-up examination with team doctor David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan on Monday and subsequently was placed on the DL. He may be sidelined six weeks or more, Collins estimated.

“There’s no real timetable,” Collins said. “It’ll be a while. I guess there are some exercises he can do, but nothing baseball related for a while. We’re looking at a fairly long period before he’s going to be able to get back and do some baseball stuff.”

The Mets promoted utility player Ty Kelly from Triple-A Las Vegas. Left-handed reliever Dario Alvarez was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Wright dealt with a stress fracture in his lower back during the 2011 season. After trying to play through the undiagnosed injury for a month, he landed on the DL in May and missed two full months. He has cited that stress fracture as one reason for the spinal stenosis that developed and which currently torments him.

“You have to be conservative with it. You have to take your time with it,” Wright said. “You have to make sure that you’re meticulous with your rehab. It’s something where you’re talking about a bone being damaged. There’s going to be a time, if it was anything like mine, where you can’t do anything. You have to be very aware of your movements on a daily basis. You have to do things that keep that area stabilized so the bone can heal itself. And then, after that, …

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