WASHINGTON — Just before batting practice began during a recent Mets game in Los Angeles, Yoenis Cespedes carried a large metal water bottle out to the dugout at Dodger Stadium. Several days later, Cespedes stuffed two bottles of water into each pocket of his shorts before heading to the indoor batting cages at Marlins Park in Miami.

For many major leaguers, this would be normal behavior, especially with summer weather in full force. But for Cespedes, who admits his hydration regimen was lacking until now, this is new territory, and is something that the Mets feel is important for him to maintain.

“I’m not a big water drinker,” Cespedes said recently in Spanish. “Since I got hurt, I’ve been drinking more water. I think this will help me.”

Yet it is not a foolproof plan. Cespedes, 31, felt cramping in his right hamstring Monday when he made a sliding attempt to catch the game-winning single by Washington Nationals outfielder Ryan Raburn in the Mets’ 3-2 loss. So as a precaution, Mets Manager Terry Collins overruled Cespedes’s desire to start Tuesday’s 11 a.m. game, an 11-4 loss to the Nationals in which Daniel Murphy continued to torment his old team with four hits and five R.B.I.