The Mets announced tonight that they have placed right-hander Trevor May on the injured list, without providing a designation. Fellow right-hander Bryce Montes de Oca has been selected to take his place on the roster. Montes de Oca was not previously on the 40-man roster, which was full before these moves. Those facts, combined with the fact that the club didn’t provide an injury diagnosis, points to May being on the COVID IL. Players on that list don’t count against a club’s 40-man roster.
At this point, it’s not clear whether May tested positive for the virus, as players can also land on the IL for experiencing symptoms or for viral exposure. Without a positive test, there’s no minimum stay on the IL. But in the case of a positive test, MLB’s 2022 health regulations stipulate a 10-day absence, though a pair of negative PCR tests and approval from a trio of medical professionals (team doctor, league-appointed doctor, MLBPA-appointed doctor) can override that 10-day requirement.
It’s been a tale of two seasons for May, as he struggled immensely out of the gate. He had an 8.64 ERA after about a month, at which point he was placed on the IL due to triceps inflammation. He was out of action about three months, returning at the beginning of August and posting much better results. He has a 3.86 ERA since his return, along with an excellent 35.9% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.
Montes de Oca, 26, was a ninth-round pick of the Mets in the 2018 draft. He missed the 2018 and 2019 campaigns due to injury and then 2020 due to the pandemic. He finally made his professional debut in 2021, climbing to Double-A by season’s end. This year, he began back at Double-A and posted a 3.12 ERA in 17 1/3 innings, striking out 31.2% of batters faced while getting grounders on 68.4% of balls in play. He did walk an obscene 18.2% of batters faced, but nonetheless got a promotion to Triple-A. He’s since registered a 3.90 ERA in 30 innings there, with a 35.3% strikeout rate, 37.7% ground ball rate and 15.4% walk rate. In July, FanGraphs ranked him the #25 prospect in the Mets’ system, noting that his fastball sits in the upper 90s with tailing movement. He will make his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
It’s not clear whether Montes de Oca has had his contract selected in the traditional way or as a COVID “substitute.” In the latter case, he would be eligible to be removed from the 40-man roster without first being exposed to waivers. Under the 2022 health and safety protocols, commissioner Rob Manfred has the sole discretion to determine whether teams are sufficiently impacted by COVID-19 to add a substitute to the roster.
What will the Mets do without the 6.11 ERA? There goes the WS title for 2022
To be fair, he’s improved quite a bit since the beginning of the year.
Cool to see Montes de Oca make it after all the time he missed.
Whoo boy, Montes de Oca’s BB/9 rate is brutal. Even in college, he was walking 6 per 9. K rate is great, though.
So he’s like bizarro Astudillo
That Nolan Ryan guy had 5.9/9 walks in his first minor league season, then 6.2 his 2nd ….he got a call up and his rate was 9/9 innings his first year with the Mets. So the guy could be Nolan Ryan or just another guy with great stuff that can’t hit the broad side of a barn, or someplace in between. It’s awesome that no one really knows how any story ends. Hope he figures it out…..(before he gets traded to the Angels)
Montes de Oca has great stuff but terrible command.
His name sounds like a spicy Spanish sandwich
It translates as something along the lines of “mountains of geese.” So long as he throws goose eggs, they can call him Rumpelstiltskin.
Been following this guy since the draft. The few and far between home grown Mets reliever. 6’7” and throws in the high 90s. Better not get too comfortable in the box.
Saw him in Hartford this year. He got 102mph twice. Walks too many though.
Saw him hot 102 MPH in Hartford this year twice in his one inning. Had to do a double check.
Sounds like another Miguel Castro, not very promising. With that being said, the Mets should just cut there losses and cut Trevor May. Hes a walking disaster
Scherzer is next…
Scherzer felt left-side fatigue. That doesn’t sound like covid to me, and it’s eerily familiar to last season. I hope it’s nothing serious, but at his age you have to wonder.
Meant to the IL, not Covid.
Sigh.
Yea. Hopefully he doesn’t need that trip. A start or two off may fix the fatigue.