Mets add pitchers Paul Blackburn and Dedniel Núñez to long injured list
NEW YORK AP Already running low on pitching the New York Mets added starter Paul Blackburn and reliever Dedniel N ez to a crowded injured list Thursday in their latest flurry of roster moves N ez has a right elbow sprain and could require Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career Blackburn was given medication for a right shoulder impingement and won t throw for three to five days Hopefully that calms the discomfort there a little bit and we ll get him going so that s relatively good news manager Carlos Mendoza explained As far as the rotation goes one day at a time Got to get through in the current era and see where we re at for the coming day and then for the weekend Blackburn - ERA had been lined up to pitch in the Subway Series this weekend against the New York Yankees at Citi Field Now the Mets are undecided for Friday and Sunday with Frankie Montas scheduled Saturday to make his third start this season since returning from a lat strain I think every option is on the table and we re discussing all of them Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns revealed We re going to evaluate everything We ll get through it I do think we have options to get through this and this is more of a short-term need than a longer-term need Five of New York s top eight starting pitchers are on the injured list though left-hander Sean Manaea and right-hander Kodai Senga appear to be on the mend Stearns reported he d prefer not to call up one of the organization s highest-rated prospects such as Brandon Sproat or Nolan McLean for a spot start I also understand this is a unique circumstance and I can t take anything off the table right now Stearns mentioned But my preference would be to figure out a way to do it without doing that Manaea oblique elbow and Senga right hamstring strain are both nearing a return though neither is quite ready to rejoin the tattered rotation Mendoza explained it s achievable one or both could come off the injured list during the last weekend before the All-Star break July - in Kansas City They are among Mets pitchers on the IL including fellow starters Tylor Megill elbow sprain and Griffin Canning who is out for the season after rupturing his left Achilles tendon last week With the pitching staff ravaged in recent weeks following a terrific start New York had lost of heading into Thursday night s match against Milwaukee We feel good about where Senga is in his process We feel good about where Sean is getting back And so clearly this weekend we ve got specific decisions to make Then we have an off day and we get into next week and it becomes a little cleaner Stearns revealed Senga threw a bullpen Wednesday and was running and going through fielding practice Thursday The goal is for him to make a rehab start for Double-A Binghamton on Saturday or Sunday according to Mendoza Manaea has been sidelined since spring training with a right oblique strain and his preponderance new rehab outing was pushed back because of elbow discomfort attributed to a bone chip But he received a cortisone shot and threw pitches over three innings Wednesday evening for Binghamton against Hartford Assuming he feels good Manaea is expected to make one more minor league start next Tuesday and then perhaps pitch for the Mets on July at Kansas City in the final battle before the All-Star break It is a possibility Mendoza noted Ideally yes But again we re going to take it one day at a time one outing at a time New York recalled right-handers Austin Warren and Justin Hagenman from Triple-A Syracuse and selected the contract of right-hander Rico Garcia All three were in the bullpen for Thursday night s series finale versus the Brewers Right-hander Blade Tidwell was optioned to Syracuse after throwing innings in relief Wednesday night to earn his first major league triumph in the second contest of a split doubleheader Blackburn was placed on the -day injured list retroactive to Monday With the bullpen taxed so heavily lately the Mets put him back on the mound following an -minute rain delay Saturday in Pittsburgh and Mendoza acknowledged he thinks that led to the pitcher s injury When the encounter resumed Blackburn gave up five consecutive singles to start the bottom of the second inning before he was removed Obviously we knew we were asking a lot But the whole time we were asking feedback from him He kept throwing and we knew and he knew that we were only going to ask him for another pitches right Mendoza explained But yeah I think it has something to do with it You hate to see it but it s where we were at at the time And again the back and forth with him with the trainers and we just felt like even though it was an hour and a half you know it wasn t an easy decision And here we are now N ez - ERA also landed on the -day IL as the Mets wait for multiple doctors to review imaging before a plan for the right-hander is determined AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb Source
