Left-hander Jerry Blevins has re-injured his left arm and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, the Mets announced today. Via Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link), Blevins slipped while stepping off a curb and re-fractured his throwing arm. Blevins will likely undergo surgery next week. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that the Mets were aware Blevins had suffered a fall at the time they acquired fellow left-hander Eric O’Flaherty from the Athletics, though they did not know the full scope of Blevins’ new injury.
Acquired from the Nationals in an offseason trade that sent outfielder Matt den Dekker to D.C., Blevins has scarcely pitched as a member of the Mets. He began the season by throwing five perfect innings across seven relief appearances but hit the disabled list in late April after a Dee Gordon line drive caught him on the left arm, resulting in a forearm fracture.
Blevins’ freak injuries have come at an inopportune time for both team and player, as the Mets could use an effective lefty relief option (hence the roll of the dice on O’Flaherty). For Blevins, he’ll not only miss the excitement of pitching in a division race, he’ll also enter free agency having thrown just five innings in his contract season. Overall, the southpaw has a strong track record, but he posted the highest ERA of his career in 2014 and certainly would’ve preferred to distance himself from that 4.87 mark with a strong 2015 season.
That unsightly mark notwithstanding, Blevins has a 3.37 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 across 264 2/3 innings dating back to the 2010 season. He’s held opposing lefties to a .206/.257/.322 batting line in his career.
Officially a New York Met. It would only be more fitting if he was hit by Glavine or Duaner Sanchez’s taxi after slipping on the curb.