SAN DIEGO — Tylor Megill is likely getting another chance to join the Mets’ rotation.
Paul Blackburn played catch Sunday and it didn’t go as well as he or the Mets had hoped. The team felt it best to give him a break so the bone bruise on his right hand/wrist can heal. As a result, they placed him on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Saturday, and recalled right-hander Huascar Brazobán.
The Mets optioned Brozobán to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, but after Blackburn went down with an injury they had him stay with the team in the event they needed another arm. This gives the Mets another reliever through Sunday and for the first two games of the next series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but they’ll need another starter for the series finale in Phoenix on Thursday, or for the start of the series against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Left-hander David Peterson is slated to start the series in Chicago, but with Monday off, the Mets could move him to Thursday and keep him on regular rest. The Diamondbacks currently lead the NL Wild Card race, so the Mets may opt to use a more reliable arm like Peterson in a high-stakes game.
“Those are some of the things that we’re discussing right now,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday at Petco Park. “But we’re anticipating bringing someone in.”
Right-handed swingman Jose Butto is not a candidate to start. Megill pitched Saturday for Triple-A Syracuse, so the big right-hander would make the most sense given where the Mets are in the rotation.
Megill had a short outing against Durham, using 79 pitches over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit, walking two and striking out six. His last time out, he went 7 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out 11 against Rochester. In the big leagues this season, Megill went 2-5 with a 5.17 ERA over nine starts and one relief appearance.
Blackburn is not expected to be out for longer than two weeks.
“He went out there and played catch. As expected, he was stiff and sore,” Mendoza said. “But this should be a 15-day IL [stint], and then he should be ready to go, fully built up by the, you know, by the time he’s eligible to come back.”
Syracuse third baseman Brett Baty was injured in Saturday’s game, fracturing his right index finger when he was hit by a pitch on a checked swing. The timeline for a return is 4-6 weeks, which means his season might be over. Baty was expected to rejoin the big league club when rosters expand in September, but he’s no longer an option.
Rosters can expand to 28 on Sept. 1. Megill will likely stick around as pitching depth, leaving the Mets with one more spot to fill.
