The Mets have bounced back after starting the season 0-5 and have gone on to win 12 out of their last 15 games.
A vital part of the Mets’ turnaround has been the bullpen’s performance. The Mets relievers enter Sunday with a 2.88 team ERA, which leads the entire National League.
The blue and orange bullpen went 4.2 innings on Saturday to secure the Mets’ fifth straight series win, but they didn’t quite get the chance to celebrate postgame as the organization announced that star catcher Francisco Álvarez is dealing with a torn left thumb ligament and would be out for six-to-eight weeks.
The injuries are starting to pile up as one of the Mets’ top relievers is heading to the 15-day injured list.
Brooks Raley is heading to the 15-day IL
After being unavailable yesterday, the Mets announced before Sunday’s series finale that Brooks Raley would be heading to the 15-day IL due to left elbow inflammation.
Raley last pitched on Friday, going two-thirds of an inning and allowing one hit while striking out one.
This season, the 35-year-old has pitched seven innings across eight appearances, not allowing a run while having a .71 WHIP and striking out nine.
Who is coming up for Raley?
Grant Hartwig has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take Raley’s spot in the bullpen.
Hartwig has made one appearance this season for the Mets, pitching a scoreless inning against the Pirates on April 17.
For Triple-A Syracuse, the Michigan native has pitched six innings across five appearances to a 6.00 ERA with a 1.667 WHIP while striking out four.
What does this mean for the Mets?
An elbow injury for a pitcher is always concerning, but Raley dealt with something similar last April before returning after his designated 15 days on the injured list.
With Raley now out, expect Jake Diekman to take over his role in lefty situations, with Drew Smith filling in high-leverage spots.
Hopefully, Raley will be back after the designated 15 days, but pitcher elbows are tricky, so the Mets may have to prepare to be without one of their top relievers in the foreseeable future.