The Mets are going to place right-hander Christian Scott on the injured list, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. It is due to a hip issue, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Both Sammon and Heyman say the issue is expected to be minor. Scott last pitched on June 11th so the Mets should be able to backdate his IL placement by the three-day maximum to June 12th.
Even if it ultimately proves true that this is a minor issue, it’s still not an ideal development for the Mets. They have been facing rotation challenges all year. Kodai Senga has been on the injured list since late April due to lumbar spine inflammation. A fibula fracture sent Clay Holmes to the IL last month. Tylor Megill is likely to miss the whole season after undergoing Tommy John surgery late last year.
Around those injuries, there have also been some struggles. David Peterson and Sean Manaea have each done some starting and relief work but Peterson has a 5.75 earned run average while Manaea is at 4.78. Before hitting the IL, Senga had an ERA of 9.00 in his five starts.
Scott, meanwhile, has been doing good work. He has made nine starts for the Mets this year with a 3.10 ERA. He’s had a bit of help from an 82.7% strand rate but he is striking out 26.4% of opponents. His 10.7% walk rate is high but not by too much.
The Mets are trying to salvage their season before it gets away from them. They are currently 32-39, putting them 5.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. Ideally, they would climb in the standings before the August 3rd trade deadline, which would help the front office justify some buy-side moves. That should be a bit more of a challenge with Scott being on the IL for the next little while.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said yesterday that the club will recall Tobias Myers to start tonight’s game, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. His last appearance in the minors was on Thursday, so he will be pitching on just three days rest. He also isn’t fully stretched out, as he went 2 2/3 innings in that game, throwing just 36 pitches. He shouldn’t be expected to shoulder a full starter’s workload tonight, so perhaps Peterson will pitch bulk innings behind him. Peterson last pitched on Wednesday, throwing 64 pitches.
The Mets have Nolan McLean and Freddy Peralta at the front of the rotation. Manaea started on Saturday and logged six innings, so perhaps he will stay in the rotation. Around those three, they still need other solutions. The Mets play four games before their next off-day and then play 12 in a row. Myers and Peterson could both factor in. Senga has been on a rehab assignment and recently hit a setback, though he resumed his assignment on Thursday by tossing six innings for Double-A Binghamton.
Jonah Tong and Zach Thornton are each on the 40-man roster but Tong has a 6.13 ERA in Triple-A this year. Thornton has better Triple-A numbers but fared poorly in his one big league appearance earlier this year. Prospect Jack Wenninger isn’t yet on the roster but he is having a good season in the minors. He has a 2.93 ERA on the year, though with a 5.73 ERA over his past five starts. Xzavion Curry is a non-roster option with some big league experience but he has middling results in Triple-A this year.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images
