At his request, veteran outfielder Michael Cuddyer will not start for the New York Mets in Sunday's series finale against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.
"Michael came in yesterday and we just had a little brief conversation," Collins told ESPN's Adam Rubin. "He just said, 'Hey, look, I could use a day.' I think it's good that he understands this is a long haul. Again, we're talking about a guy who played, what, 40 games last year? It's good that we've got Darrell (Ceciliani), who's really swinging the bat real well right now."
Cuddyer, who turned 36 in March, appeared in all but five of New York's 58 games heading into Sunday's contest. Last season, however, the two-time All-Star played just 49 games for the Colorado Rockies amid injuries to his hamstring and shoulder.
Through 58 games this season, Cuddyer owns a .720 OPS (101 OPS+) with six home runs, though he's hitting .316/.350/.500 with eight extra-base hits in his last 19 contests.