The Mets have announced that right-hander Tommy Hunter has been placed on the 15-day injured list with back spasms. To replace Hunter on the active roster, the club has selected the contract of right-hander Denyi Reyes. To make room for Reyes on the 40-man roster, right-hander Bryce Montes de Oca has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Montes de Oca’s transfer to the 60-day IL comes as little surprise after the right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery last week. He was already expected to miss the entire 2023 season.
Hunter, 36, pitched a pair of scoreless innings for the Mets against the Marlins before getting lit up by the Brewers Monday for five runs in two innings of work. He now heads to the injured list with an 11.25 ERA during the young 2023 campaign in hopes of getting things back on track. 2023 is Hunter’s third season as a member of the Mets, but the journeyman right-hander has pitched for six other organizations in his career. From 2008-2012, Hunter pitcher primarily as a starter for the Rangers and Orioles, posting a 4.77 ERA (92 ERA+) in 469 1/3 innings of work. Baltimore then transitioned him into a regular bullpen role where Hunter began to flourish.
Since the beginning of the 2013 season, Hunter has posted a 3.21 ERA (129 ERA+) in 428 1/3 innings of work, with all but one of those appearances coming out of the bullpen. Hunter also sports a 20.6% strikeout rate against a minuscule 5.4% walk rate in addition to an above average 45.9% groundball rate during that time. Given his long track record of success out of the bullpen, it’s reasonable to think Hunter may be able to contribute to the relief corps in New York once he’s returned to full health.
In the meantime, the 26 year-old Reyes will take Hunter’s spot in the bullpen. Reyes made his big league debut as a member of the Orioles last year, pitching to a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings of work across three appearances. Reyes sports a career 3.29 ERA with a 21.3% strikeout rate and a 3.7% walk rate in 596 1/3 innings of work in the minors, with ample experience both starting and out of the rotation. He should give the Mets a solid multi-inning option out of the bullpen, a role Hunter had been filling for the Mets prior to his injury.
Bro’s back is in shambles every year.
Hunter on the IL. The universe corrected itself.
Slip and fall at the all-you-can-eat buffet?
Shocked the Mets broke yet another pitcher. It’s honestly really weird how their pitchers are always getting hurt. Not trying to be snarky
This is a Tommy Hunter problem, not a Mets problem.
Like most pitchers who get lit up in an outing, it MUST have been his (fill in the blank with named injury). So ( name the team) says he was injured. Therefore that pitcher with the bloated ERA doesn’t have to get DFA’d and the ( insert team name here) gets to keep him until all replacements fail and the said injured pitcher is deemed healthy again. At least Tommy Hunter has a track record of back issues to lend credence to his spasms.
Does he have bloating and irritability too? Around one week every month?
I may know what’s wrong.
Scherzer to the IL tomorrow then?
Fer Scher… fer scher.
The Mets rely on a lot of older, hired gun type pitchers. It’s not exactly a shock that they often get injured. They might want to mix in some younger, homegrown talent into their rotation and bullpen mix, ala the Mariners, Rays, Astros and Guardians.
Big problem with the Mets the last few years is that they’ve been really bad at drafting and developing starting pitching. The last homegrown starters of any notoriety they’ve had were deGrom, Wheeler, and Syndergaard, and they all reached the majors 8-10 years ago (and Wheeler/Syndergaard were acquired via trade as well).
Even now, they only have Megill and Peterson as possible decent starters and not much in the upper minors (Butto is very underwhelming, imo). They have four prospects in the MLB top 100 and they’re all position players. MLB.com’s top 30 per team has the Mets best starter as Blade Tidwell and he’s in high A ball and only their 7th highest ranked prospect.
rct, you are right. There isn’t much home grown pitching talent in the Mets system right now. They are already using Peterson and Megill who were to have been their depth in AAA. Not that they wouldnt have made other club’s rotations, but the depth is evaporating. Next up probably Lucchesi, then Dylan Bundy. But nothing home grown.
@mlb fan
Man I wish we could, the Mets were left with an abundance of nothing from the Wilpon era. The Wilpons tried a last minute effort to trade whoever they could to field a winning team before they sold to just be left behind as always. The Wilpons could never figure it out, now Cohen is left with buying every piece he can till SOMETHING/ANYTHING comes up from the minors.
DeGrom, Matt Harvey, Matz missed a bunch of time. Diaz is still in his 20s
What are you talking about? This is clearly a fake injury to get a fresh arm up after yesterdays blowout burned the pen. Hunters back has been shot way before he was a Met. They did this with him last year too stashing him on IL and giving him two weeks off when they needed fresh arms this way they don’t have to DFA him.
I can’t tell whether or not this is sarcasm. I’m leaning towards no, which seems like an extraordinary claim without extraordinary evidence. If so, what things make you say that?
The Mets didn’t break Hunter. Dude is always solid, but always hurt.
Lumber AND lumbar woes.
The old just-got-rocked-so-he-must-be-injured IL placement.
Check back on the post where Tommy Hunter made the team that I commented on. I said his back surgeries have made him unreliable and a shell of his former self. Some clowns on the thread (not bronxmac) tried to tell me how wrong I was. Looks like I was right again per usual
You always be wrong
@Hammerin Hank Raley just gave up 4 runs in one inning, its fair to say that I was right again
Wth did they get rid of Zach Greene?
He got shelled almost every outing in ST. No way they were carrying him all year so they sent him back.
It’s good that the Mets are not trying to sign aging names like Familia/Betances anymore
That’s what the bad GMs do. Just go with young no names with better arms
Yeah go with young whippersnappers like Verlander, Scherzer, Carrasco, Robertson, etc. And your 30-year-old rookie. Good to see that they’re not signing any aging names.
I believe Hunter has a case of shell shock. Hopefully a 15 day IL stint will help.
Reyes is solid, glad he’s getting another chance to break into the bigs.