The Mets announced today that right-hander Phil Maton He was placed on the active list after he was found in Misebe yesterday. They also remember the left Danny Young. In order to open up places for those two, the club chose to do so Eric Orze and well placed Reed Garrett on the 15-day injured list with right elbow swelling.
It is not known how serious Garrett's elbow problem is, but more information will be forthcoming. Per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com on X, the righty complained of arm stiffness last night and is now scheduled for an MRI today. It's possible that his elbow problem has led to the recent drop in results, as DiComo points out that Garrett has had some poor results recently.
Before that latest slide, Garrett had been the godfather of a Mets bullpen that had been struggling all year. Through May 22, he had thrown 26 innings allowing just three earned runs, resulting in a 1.04 ERA. His 11.3% walk rate during that time was the highest but he had a great 40.3% strikeout rate and a solid 42% ground ball rate. For a 31-year-old that the Mets said was fired from the Orioles last summer, he proved to be a great finder.
He has a 7.88 ERA in 16 innings since then, which is a small sample but his average stats have also changed. His 25.6% strikeout rate in that span is still strong but a significant drop from where he was before and his walk rate has risen to 12.8%. His pace seemed unstoppable, as it actually picked up as the season progressed. His fastball averaged 95.8 miles per hour in April and has climbed every month until reaching 98.3 so far in July.
Despite recent struggles, the Mets aren't looking for more challenges in assembling their bullpen. The pitchers on this team have a combined 4.24 ERA that ranks 20th in the majors and have weakened as the season progresses. Drew Smith again Brooks Raley they are already down to season-ending surgery Sean Reid-Foley again Shintaro Fujinami each is in IL with a shoulder injury.
The Mets are 45-45 and only 1.5 games back of a playoff spot. Improving the bullpen has reportedly been a target area and, as mentioned, they have already acquired Maton in an effort to strengthen the team. If Garrett needs to miss any time, it will only increase the amount of work the front office will need to do in putting the bullpen together.
For Garrett personally, it could be a significant blow if he ends up needing to miss any significant time. He traveled the world of baseball as he struggled to make it, spending time with the Rangers, Tigers, Nationals, Orioles and Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Earlier this year, his reign appeared to be the start of a late bloomer but the results have slowed and now he will have to see what the MRI machine finds on his elbow.
Source link
