There’s no question the vibes are high right now for the Mets, who own the best record in baseball at 20-9 and who are coming off a 19-run offensive explosion on Monday.
The only thing that could derail this team’s excitement is injuries, which unfortunately have happened as manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters before Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks that left-handed reliever A.J. Minter is dealing with a “pretty significant” lat injury and that surgery is still on the table.
Nevertheless, the show must go on and New York now has its eyes set on Arizona, which just ended a four-game losing streak with a win against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
Finding Nimmo
Before Mendoza spoke, the Mets’ lineup was revealed and there was a pretty big surprise when Brandon Nimmo‘s name was nowhere to be found. Sure, the Diamondbacks have LHP Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound today, but considering Nimmo’s huge game against the Washington Nationals on Monday, it seemed like a no-brainer to keep him in the lineup.
So why the rest?
“I’m not resting Brandon,” Mendoza said with a bit of a laugh when asked about his decision to leave Nimmo out of the lineup. “Especially after that game last night. He’s just sick today. He’s in rough shape right now.
“We’ve got a lot of guys dealing with this flu, whatever you wanna call it, and fever, pretty weak. So [Nimmo’s] getting an IV right now and hopefully he’s a player for us at some point today, but we gotta give him a couple of hours. As of right now, he’s pretty rough.”
Asked if Nimmo was dealing with this sickness during his two-home run, nine-RBI game less than 24 hours ago, the skipper said, “It’s been going on, but I think last night and this morning that’s when it got him pretty good.”
In Nimmo’s place, Jose Azocar is in left field and batting ninth while Starling Marte is the DH, batting cleanup.
What about Wednesday?
As of right now, the Mets have not announced a starter for the middle game of this three-game set with the D-backs.
However, Mendoza stated that LHP Brandon Waddell, pitching for Triple-A Syracuse this season, will be with the team on Wednesday and will have some sort of impact on the game.
The manager wouldn’t say whether Waddell would get the start or come in after an opener (like Justin Hagenman did on April 16 against the Minnesota Twins), but that “he will play a part of that game tomorrow.”
“Whether he’s gonna start, we got to get through today’s game and see whether we want to go with an opener or he starts the game,” Mendoza said.
Having last pitched in the majors in 2021 and owning a 5.68 ERA across 11 appearances (no starts), Waddell has pitched well for Syracuse. In five starts, the lefty has a 1.54 ERA.
Battered bullpen
With the unfortunate news of Minter, New York’s bullpen is going to have to step up without its setup man. And despite still pitching to a 3.07 ERA, third-best in the NL, some Mets’ relievers have already begun to level off after an incredible start to the season.
“It’s a big blow, I’m not gonna lie,” Mendoza said about Minter’s injury. “Not only because of his ability to throw high-leverage, but his ability to get lefties and righties [out]. It’s a big blow for sure, but guys will step up, guys will continue to get opportunities and we gotta keep going.”
One of those relievers that will likely get more opportunities is Max Kranick.
Before quickly impressing the team during spring training, Kranick hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2022 when he underwent Tommy John surgery. In his first taste back in the big leagues since, the right-hander has continued to look good with a 2.55 ERA in 17.2 innings.
What’s been most impressive about Kranick has been his flexibility and willingness to pitch in any situation. Each new challenge he’s faced, he’s handled with aplomb.
“I think regardless of this injury with A.J., [Kranick’s] been super valuable,” Mendoza said, singing the 27-year-old’s praises. “He’s been huge for us. Especially with some of the ways we’ve been using him, when you probably have to call his name because a pitcher went down – that happened back-to-back outings. And he comes in and he continues to get the job done.
“We feel good about a guy like Kranick getting righties and lefties [out], we feel good with some of the other righties that we’ve got in the bullpen and their abilities to get left-handed hitters out and people will continue to get some opportunities and Kranick is one of them.”
It wasn’t all bad news on Tuesday either, as the Mets officially signed Brooks Raley. While the lefty begins the season on the IL, he’s already begun throwing bullpen sessions as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery and figures to be an option in the bullpen down the line.
“He’s gonna go down to Florida and continue to throw his bullpens so hopefully in the next couple of weeks he starts facing batters and then we’ll go from there,” Mendoza said. “But he’s already throwing bullpens so that’s a good sign.”
Between 2023 and 2024, Raley pitched to a 2.48 ERA in 74 games for the Mets.
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