Mets reliever Dedniel Núñez will miss the remainder of the 2024 season with a flexor injury, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The right-hander received a platelet-rich plasma injection today as he seeks to avoid surgery, but he will not have time to make it back to the field in 2024.
Until recently, the Mets had been optimistic they would have Núñez back before the end of the regular season. Earlier this month, DiComo reported that Núñez would be able to “ramp up quickly” once he got back on a mound, and the Mets weren’t even planning to send him for more tests. Just last Monday, Tim Britton of The Athletic wrote that Núñez had “felt better of late” and suggested the Mets were hopeful he could begin a throwing program shortly. Needless to say, that is no longer the case.
Núñez, 28, was enjoying a phenomenal debut season in Queens. From his MLB debut on April 9 to his final appearance on August 24, he threw 35 innings with a 2.31 ERA and 2.13 SIERA. He started as an up-and-down, low-leverage reliever but quickly became one of Mendoza’s most trusted arms. Unfortunately, the righty landed on the IL at the end of July with a pronator strain, and after making his way back for one appearance at the end of August, his forearm troubles came back. The team has not offered a timeline for his return this time, but hopefully, if he can stay off the surgical table, he’ll be ready to go next spring.
Thankfully for the Mets, their relief corps remains a strength, even in Núñez’s absence. Since the trade deadline, the Mets rank eighth in baseball with a 3.28 bullpen ERA. Edwin Díaz, Reed Garrett, Phil Maton, and Danny Young all have ERAs under 3.00 in that time. José Buttó hasn’t been quite as sharp as of late, but he has a 2.70 ERA on the year. Meanwhile, veteran Adam Ottavino has strong underlying numbers in his 14th big league campaign; his 3.18 SIERA is more than a full run better than his 4.29 ERA this season. The Mets have won eight of their last 10 and 19 of their last 30 games, but they’ll still need every advantage they can get as they try to hold off the Braves in the Wild Card race. An effective bullpen will be critical down the stretch and potentially into October.
Sometimes it’s just best to have the surgery cause a lot of times pitchers try to rest and rehab their injury and they still need the surgery extending their absence and that doesn’t benefit anyone.
I hear ya but remember they are still human and not having surgery is always better if possible. I tend to look at them as machines too, it’s hard not to, but totally understand trying no surgery before surgery just for quick results.
I would say it’s rarely best to just have the surgery. He is just starting his career. Any surgery has risks of effecting your skill set. The problem is everyone just opts for the knife because they believe it’s the only realistic option and the team is paying them to sit on the IL so there is pressure there sometimes, spoken or not. We won’t have data on alternatives either if nobody tries that route. Only in pro sports is surgery usually not the last option.
I get that, but history isn’t on his side I mean yeah Masahiro Tanaka had an elbow tear when he was with the Yankees and never had Tommy John surgery, but wasn’t the same after, so it can happen and I get it no one wants any type of surgery if it can be avoided doesn’t matter if you a pro player or an average person