Newly acquired reliever Phil Maton arrived at Citi Field on Wednesday and is immediately available out of the Mets‘ bullpen. The right-hander was acquired on Tuesday in a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations.
“It’s exciting to come here,” said Maton before Wednesday’s game against the Washington Nationals. “They went out of their way to acquire me and add me to this team as we make a push for a playoff seed.”
The Amazins certainly need help from the right-hander. Entering Wednesday, the Mets’ bullpen owns a 10.17 ERA in July after allowing five runs in two innings in Tuesday’s win over the Nationals.
“Happy to have him, obviously, especially with where we’re at,” said Carlos Mendoza. “I’ve seen him from the other side of the dugout, finally he’s on my team. He’ll be ready to go, I told him the situation where we’re at bullpen-wise and this stretch with so many games in a row. He’ll be ready from the sixth all the way to the ninth [inning].”
Mendoza didn’t rule out Maton getting the final three outs in certain situations.
The 31-year-old confirmed that he had conversations with the Mets this offseason before he signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Rays. The veteran owns a 4.58 ERA in 40 games with Tampa Bay this season. However, the 31-year-old was an effective arm in the Astros’ bullpen the previous two seasons posting a 3.42 ERA from 2022-2023 while racking up postseason experience — 18 appearances.
KODAI SENGA RECOVERY
Kodai Segna tossed 2.2 scoreless innings tallying 52 pitches on Tuesday night for the Syracuse Mets in his second rehab outing.
The next steps in the 31-year-old’s rehab will be determined by his recovery over the next few days. If all goes well, he could make another rehab start Sunday on regular rest, according to Mendoza.
The Mets have an idea of what number — in terms of pitch count — they need Senga to get to before bringing him back into the fold. However, president of baseball operations David Stearns did confirm that the club would go to a six-man rotation once they get their ace back.
ROSTER MOVES
Right-hander Eric Orze has been sent to Triple-A and southpaw Danny Young and Maton joined the club on Wednesday.
Reliever Reed Garrett was also placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.
“After the outing last night he came in complaining about the forearm, elbow area,” said Mendoza. “We were waiting to see how he was going to respond and he came in today with pretty much the same. So he’s getting an MRI and we’ll see what we got.”
Garrett allowed three earned runs and registered just two outs in his outing on Tuesday. On the whole, the right-hander has been one of the club’s most effective relievers, owning a 3.64 ERA in 26 appearances. The hits keep on coming for the Mets’ bullpen, making the addition of Maton that much more important.
