Yesterday, New York Mets‘ fans saw a headline with the words “Seth Lugo” and “fractured.” At first glance, they thought the worst had happened. However, the details are encouraging. The break is small and is in his left pinkie toe.
That doesn’t make it any less painful (we all have banged our pinkie toe with something and know what it’s like) but the fact is that Lugo, who is arguably the Mets’ most valuable reliever, is already set to throw long-toss on Wednesday in Mets’ training camp in Port St. Lucie.
The news was confirmed by New York Post’s writer Mike Puma. The pitcher banged his left pinkie toe against an ottoman on Monday. The bizarre thing is that the injury didn’t take place on the field. Instead, it happened in his hotel room.
The Mets pitcher will soon work from a mound
But fear no more! Lugo is already throwing again and the expectation is that he soon resumes working from a mound.
While it seemed, at first, that he was going to be a little behind his peers due to the incident, that no longer seems to be the case.
In fact, there are now no concerns whatsoever about his ability to resume throwing from a mound sooner rather than later. Lugo will be ready in time for the start of the 2020 season with the New York Mets.
The Mets could not afford to lose him for a significant period of time. Yes, the team signed Dellin Betances and has Edwin Diaz, Brad Brach, Justin Wilson and company, but Lugo was a star among stars in 2019. He pitched to a 2.70 ERa (2.70 FIP) in 80 innings. The righty had a 11.70 K/9 and a BB/9 of 1.80, both excellent marks.
He was actually one of the best relievers in the National League.