3:25pm: The Mets have issued a statement on Lugo’s injury, noting that he will be shut down for the next two weeks before beginning a throwing program. “Surgical repair of the UCL is still a possibility, depending on the results of the PRP, rest and throwing program,” the Mets add at the conclusion of the release.
11:39am: Mets righty Seth Lugo has been diagnosed with a “slight” tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his pitching elbow, according to Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter). He is, however, not expected to require surgery. Instead, the current plan calls for a platelet-rich plasma injection followed by rest.
While a more significant tear to the UCL would obviously represent much worse news, it’s still a major loss for the Mets. Lugo had figured to represent a top-quality swingman after his excellent work in 2016. Instead, he’ll join Steven Matz on the shelf for at least a significant chunk of the season’s first half.
Lugo, 27, had gone largely without note until breaking through to the majors last year. He ended up providing 64 innings of 2.67 ERA pitching in 17 appearances — eight of them starts — while allowing just 49 base hits to go with 6.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. Despite allowing hard contact at a 38.4% clip, Lugo managed to hold opposing hitters to a .230 batting average on balls in play.
Whether Lugo’s 2016 success is sustainable remains to be seen, but the Mets had hoped to find out by having him on hand to help out. Particularly with Matz also battling injury issues, the club’s depth has taken a hit early on.
Obviously, any UCL injury immediately raises the specter of a Tommy John procedure, but that’s not always the case. For one thing, many pitchers rest and then pitch through sprains (which are themselves slight tears). For another, there are a variety of alternative treatments and procedures currently rising in popularity. Given the preliminary diagnosis that has been reported thus far, it’s impossible to know how long Lugo might be sidelined.
It’s worth noting, too, that it’s not clear whether Lugo has actually suffered a recent injury. As James Wagner of the New York Times notes (Twitter links), it hasn’t yet been determined (if it’s possible to at all) whether Lugo has simply experienced inflammation from a preexisting issue. While the distinction may not matter much for his rehab course, it could conceivably change the way the medical staff assesses his susceptibility to further injury moving forward.
One down, 6 to go.
Jajajaja
Hey eventually…I thought you would still be foolishly optimistic in Day 2 of the season?
Has the “TC” crash and burn through young pitchers program started to get to you?
Where is TC to blame? Please tell me, friend.
If you’ll recall- Lugo spent almost all of spring training pitching for Puerto Rico.
i think he was talking about the program in general…as usually its the development of an injury that usually leads to it…such as overuse etc…
He’s a troll and insecure about his own team.
Pot, meet kettle.
Trade for Colon
they should’ve signed him in the offseason, but it’s Sandy so it’s not that shocking
Bartolo can be this years version of the Mets & Braves annual Kelly Johnson trade, a player the Mets thought they didn’t need but end up trading for.
lol this guy continues to be screwed by teh wbc
That was my first thought, was to point finger at WBC.. love the representation of the sport that the WBC offers, but it causes so many health issues
Yeah because if he wasn’t pitching in the WBC he’d just be sitting somewhere else in a bubble and would never possibly get hurt.
Way more players got hurt in normal spring training than in the WBC.
this team has the worst luck with pitching
It’s more than luck bastros. When the same thing happens year in and year out you need to question leadership. Hold “TC” accountable. Ever since he Mo’s mismanaged johan’s comeback by being selfish in wanting to be the first metsies’ manager with a no hitter, he’s been reckless with the staff. Pushing young pitchers past their limits is his MO.
The golden era of this pitching staff is settling into the final years.
you should see how he manages his bullpen…he loves giving guys dead arms
@mikeyank55 though i don’t totally disagree with you about the TC putching MO, you could not be more wrong about Lugo’s injury being TC’s fault
TC had nothing to do the the WBC and he only pitched Lugo in one ST game in which Lugo got smoked
he was talking generally about bad luck and the mets pitchers…in general he does abuse other pitchers pretty badly especially his bullpen. he never mentioned lugo specifically and yes we all know the WBC screwed lugo.
“All” ?
While the Mets seem to just have terrible luck with their starting pitchers, they are incredibly lucky and fortunate that they have such a top notch group of pitching coaches and talent evaluators.
If not for the Mets sheer ridiculous depth of mostly homegrown talent, their pitching staff and rotation would be in complete shambles!!
Now, a fan could argue, well if the Mets have such a great pitching program, then why do they suffer through soo many injuries to their pitchers?? Which is a valid point, and might possibly even be true, but every team goes through pitching injuries. Obviously, some teams just suffer nor injuries than others. Although, really, there is no reliable way to 100%, positively tell who is at fault for the Mets injuries to their pitchers.
The one thing that is true, and that is clearly evident is the Mets are very fortunate to have acquired and groomed soo many talented pitchers. They have Syndergaard, DeGrom, Wheeler, Matz, Harvey, Gsellman, Lugo, and even some very talented prospects like LHP Thomas Szapucki and RHP Justin Dunn who look like the next two excellent starters for the Mets that will come up in a couple of years…
what? have you paid attention to the mets the last 30 years? they have terrible scouts….and they have ray ramirez who has overseen this mets organization to one of the most injury prone teams in mlb….this isn’t the phoenix suns dude
Sczapucki and Dunn are 2019 best case I think…if we lose Lugo to TJ for 2017-18, then we need to go dumpster diving on the waiver wire for a number 5 after one more injury; nobody in Vegas will be ready for the rotation this year, just spot starts.
How about Montero for an emergency spot start? Wow….I can’t believe I actually typed that. I must have blacked out or something.
The Mets need to take a deep look at their pitcher’s conditioning program. Every starting pitcher has been down with a major injury over the last few years. If it’s a couple, it’s bad but understandable. When it’s ALL of them, it’s something systemic.
its not just for their pitchers…do you know how often other mets players get injured? this is one of the most injured teams in mlb. they need to fire ray ramirez who has been there for decades and only harbored major injuries
Dodgers, Athletics, Padres, Rangers, Braves, and several other teams had more player days on the DL last season than the Mets. The biggest problem has been the Mets starting pitching staff.
why would you only look at one year? you only named 5 teams…there are 30 in baseball. you also ignored duration of time on DL
No he took duration into account. Player days. Total days players were on the DL. Don’t know how you missed that.
Player days on the DL is duration. How many total days did all the players that went on the DL spend there in a given season. The Mets were not in the top 15. If you look at the last 5 years they are not in the top 15. If you only look at their starting pitching they are in 2nd place both last season and the past 5 years. Take a look at Hardball Talk for a great piece on injuries measured by player days on the DL and total number of injuries. I don’t question overall conditioning or how their manager handles the squad. I am only questioning the handling and conditioning program for their starters.
Dont forget Sandy. You and The Cheapons are “all in” this year. Don’t wait too long to do something about this.
Oh yeah, and please DO NOT contemplate bringing back MR PELFREY.
Sandy should lose his job is he brings Pelfry back
Not blaming it on the WBC this time?
Did you invest your puny salary in the WBC since you are so protective of it?
Make up your mind. In another post you blamed the timing of the WBC for Lugo’s injury. Now it’s on Sandy and the owners.
And sagbagels insists it’s Dan Warthen’s slidermania, oh wait, he segues to it’s the WBC’s fault..
Help, help !! Conspiracies are everywhere !!!
overratedsandy: Feel free to argue as vehemently as you like, but please stop calling others names.
What ‘name’ did I use inappropriately?
Could somebody explain the WBC connection to this? I know Lugo pitched, but I feel like I’m missing something. Thanks in advance.
Nothing to see here. The World Bowling Congress is just looking for clicks.
He pitched ALOT. for Puerto Rico and too early in the ST season to do so.
ALOT? Yeah those 15 innings spread out over 3 games is enough to make an arm fall off from overuse. Shame the WBC doesn’t adhere to a strict pitch count. :/
Good point, Hammer.
On top of that, during that darned WBC he had to use his arm to sign lots of autographs and drink lots water. Signed autographs in Spanish, too.
Takes a real toll on the old wing, don’t it?
overratedsandy:
Typically tasteless. You do a disservice to your team’s real fans.
Lmao omg get rekt
Cmon lets be optimistic! We lost our number 6 starter for 6 weeks. The rotation may need some help later in the year but we shouldn’t lose our minds over this. Syndagaard and Degrom look great! Wheeler and Harvey seem healthy and improving, could we ask for anything more?
I want to believe…but…The Mets. I’ve been a suffering Mets fan for 30+ years and well…fool me once…shame on you…fool me 30+ years except twice…shame on me.
Don’t worry Mets fans you don’t need pitching cause Tim Kardashian is on the way!!!