The Mets announced a large slate of roster moves this morning, most notably placing righty Reed Garrett on the 15-day injured list due to a sprain in his right elbow. New York also selected the contract of righty Wander Suero from Triple-A Syracuse, designated right-hander Dom Hamel for assignment, recalled righties Huascar Brazoban and Chris Devenski from Syracuse and placed lefty Sean Manaea on the paternity list.
There’s no immediate timetable for Garrett’s return, but the 15-day IL placement ends his regular season. Taking a step back, any news of an elbow sprain — which by definition signifies stretching/tearing of a ligament — is an ominous development for a pitcher. That’s especially true in the case of Garrett, who only recently returned from a two-week IL stay due to inflammation in that same elbow. Presumably, manager Carlos Mendoza will have more information prior to this afternoon’s game against the Padres.
Garrett’s loss is a notable one for a Mets relief corps that has struggled amid what increasingly looks like a late-season collapse. They still hold the final NL Wild Card spot, but the Mets have dropped 10 of their past 13 games and only recently snapped a disastrous eight-game losing streak. The Mets are just 16-27 since the trade deadline passed — a .372 winning percentage that effectively matches the season-long mark of the rebuilding White Sox.
Shoddy bullpen work has been a critical factor. Mets relievers have posted a collective 4.76 ERA since Aug. 1 — the sixth-worst mark in the majors. The typically steady Garrett has contributed to those woes, yielding a run per inning over the course of a dozen frames in that time. It stands to reason that those struggles are tied directly to his elbow injury; Garrett was sporting a tidy 2.45 ERA in 47 2/3 frames before being shelled for eight runs in a span of five appearances and heading to the injured list. He was effective for the ’24 Mets as well, logging 57 2/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA and huge 33.6% strikeout rate.
At the very least, Garrett will be sidelined into a potential Wild Card series. His IL placement is retroactive to Sept. 15. In theory, he could return on Sept. 30, which is the first day of MLB’s Wild Card round of postseason play. A minimum stay for an elbow sprain is quite rare, however, and the fact that this is his second elbow-related IL stint in three weeks does little to quell concerns about a long-term absence.
The 32-year-old Garrett crossed two years of big league service time earlier this season and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, as a clear Super Two player (2.143 years of service). He’s under club control through the 2029 season.
With Garrett shelved, the Mets will add Suero back to the major league roster. They claimed him off waivers from Atlanta last month, but Suero didn’t actually pitch in a game with the Mets before being designated for assignment and outrighted to Syracuse upon clearing waivers. He’s been tagged for eight runs in just 6 1/3 big league innings this season but was a frequently used bullpen arm for the Nationals from 2018-20, when he pitched 142 2/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball with solid strikeout and walk rates.
Suero has struggled in limited big league work since that brief peak with Washington, but he’s been exceptional in Triple-A this season. The 34-year-old righty has tossed a pair of scoreless innings with the Mets’ Syracuse affiliate, adding to an impressive stretch with the Braves’ Triple-A club in Gwinnett. Between those two stops, he’s piled up 48 2/3 innings with a sparkling 1.29 ERA, a 32.5% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate. Even with the lack of recent big league success, it’d be hard to say Suero hasn’t earned himself another look in the majors with this year’s Triple-A dominance.
As Suero rejoins the 40-man roster, the 26-year-old Hamel will lose his spot. The Mets selected Hamel with their third-round pick in 2021, and he made his big league debut just last night, tossing a scoreless inning against San Diego. (Granted, Hamel faced six batters and yielded three hits along the way.) The 6’2″ righty has had a rough season in Syracuse, totaling 67 2/3 innings and recording a 5.32 earned run average. Hamel fanned just over one-quarter of his opponents and notched a sharp 7.4% walk rate in Triple-A this season, but he was tagged for 1.60 homers per nine innings pitched and struggled with men on base.
Because the trade deadline has passed, the Mets’ only course of action with Hamel will be to place him on outright waivers or release waivers. The former is far likelier. He hasn’t been outrighted in the past and obviously has well under three years of big league service time, so he won’t have the right to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed. Hamel has a full slate of minor league options, which could appeal to other clubs seeking depth, but he’s a 91-94 mph righty who’s been hit hard in two Triple-A seasons — which should give the Mets a decent chance of slipping him through waivers and keeping him as a depth piece.
Yikes.
Shelby Miller comes to mind. Ticking timebomb but he might just say put me in coach it’s the playoffs
Garrett’s IL placement is retroactive to 9/15, thus the earliest he could return would be the NL Wild Card series that starts on 9/30.
ChuckNJ: Are you echoing the piece or playing Captain Obvious?
The retroactive IL placement was tweeted Thursday morning. MLBTR didn’t update its story to reflect that until Thursday afternoon.
Garrett has been abused by the Mets for the last two seasons. Not surprising that his arm is injured.
Abuse? He’s 32 and not even arb eligible yet. What’s Garret saving his own arm for? 76 pitchers this season have made more 58 appearances.
“At the very least, Garrett will be sidelined into a potential Wild Card series.”
Mighty presumptuous comment.
The Mets are not guaranteed to make the post-season.
Maybe that’s why the word, “potential” was used?
@ YBC ang said over the last two years. So his atge and previous career history have no bearing on that. Teams will use close to 1000 relievers this year. So 76 is a pretty small percentage. And abuse doesn’t just come in the form of inning pitched. The leverage of the situation, number of back-to-back appearances, using him while he is sore or injured are all factors.
Now more than ever, Soto, Rogers and Helsley need to step up.
I hate this merry go round that the Mets are doing with relievers, leave Hamel up let’s see what he can do
There’s nothing to see. He has struggled non-stop in AAA for two full years. He’s not a prospect, he is just roster filler. He was probably headed for a DFA this off season anyway to make room for all of the 60-day IL guys coming back onto the roster.
I hate this “let’s see what he can do” fan narrative. Sometimes a guy gets called up for not because he is good, but because he is expendable. The club knows they’re going to send him back down soon anyway, so they call up a nobody that can easily be removed again. That was absolutely the case with Hamel.
Hamel should get claimed off waivers. He’s pitched okay as a reliever this year and has 2 more option years remaining.
Meh. He pitched better as a reliever, but he was still below average in that capacity.
The point is: it doesn’t matter. He is not part of this team’s construct. He was probably going to be DFA’d in the off season anyway.
jvent: Why? How does it harm you?
Mets have used 46 pitchers so far. Suero will make it 47 when he gets into a game.
Yes, and Hamel last night being the 46th set the MLB record, which had been owned by last year’s Marlins.
I didn’t realize they only just set that record. Crazy because now the September rosters only get expanded two spots.
Why is Stanek still on this team? He is the worst reliever on the staff right now
I think you mean the league.
Hoping for playoff magic. He is hot and cold reliever. He wouldn’t have got close to 5 million if he didn’t have it in him to perform. Who are you going take his place from Syracuse then?
@Mets&SkenesFan The Mets have Senga, Devinski, and Dylan Ross who are all better options then Stanek
Why is Mendoza still managing this team!
You could see Peterson was struggling but you leave him in to face Machado after a walk and a hit batter to load the bases!
So painful as a long time Mets fan to watch and hear Stearns and Cohen say Mendoza’s job is safe for next year.
May have to give up watching…
Mendoza is just a highlight maker for the opposing teams
Mendoza is a disaster and even if they make the playoffs he should be fired immediately. Stearns is worse. This team won’t win until Cohen wastes 3 more years before he realizes Stearns is a bum.
A bum who in his first season reached the NLCS. Lighten up.
I’m jumping the gun here, but…. The Mets already have two pitchers expected to miss all of next season with TJ. Another had TJ in late May, so most, if not all of next season. They’re waiting to hear back on Megill, and Garrett is now a possibility. That’s potentially a lot of dead weight to carry on your 40-man roster all off-season. And we still don’t know when Kranick and MInter are coming back. .
Plus you have Christian Scott and Drew Smith returning from TJ if memory serves.
@rct Hopefully Drew Smith never returns
@ rct Yes, but thats not the point. They are returning and should both be ready for the start of the season. The point I’m trying to make is that the Mets could potentially have 5+ roster spots tied up by players who won’t even be able to contribute next year. Not only is that dead weight, but it handicaps their ability to maneuver in the off season and add Rule 5s and free agents.
But to your point, and to be specific, there are eight players on the 60-day, and 9 departing free agents. (Not counting Madrigal and Winker who are on both lists). So there will be only one roster opening on Nov 7th when the off season officially begins. Thats not enough. There will have to be some cuts, and arb non-tenders. Some of them will likely be players who still have some upside.
“Yes, but thats not the point. They are returning and should both be ready for the start of the season”
Not necessarily.
Awright, don’t overstate it. I said “should”, not “will” be ready. They’ll only be out longer if they have a new or complete re-injury. They both had their surgeries in mid-to-late ’24 (Smith in July and Scott in September). Scott started tossing back in March, started throwing bullpens back in early August, and is reportedly cleared for a normal off-season throwing program.
Smith moved from bullpens to live batting practice in August. They are not known or expected to be dead weight this off season.
Nunez and Montas just had their surgeries in the last couple of months and are all but certain to be out for all of next season.
geofft
Spot On!
Tough break for Garrett. He’s had his moments, but can’t seem to survive a full big league season.
This offseason, the Mets need to use their big $$$ not for the Juan Sotos of the world, but to build a real bullpen for 2026 — not one made out of duct tape, an endless Syracuse-Queens shuttle with a full busload of optionable Four-A pitchers, and lottery tickets like Garrett and Ryne Stanek. It definitely would be great to be able to avoid the huge overpays necessary to rebuild a bullpen mid-season.
They should start with a GM who has a clue how to build a bullpen and a pitching coach who can provide some value when the staff is struggling.
I wouldn’t contribute all of Garrett’s recent poor performance to his injury. Anyone watching him knows it was bound to catch up with him. He walks too many, always pitches behind and is a jam constantly. He had a ton of good luck earlier in the year.
@Carlos15 100% right
Lost in all of these moves was Torrens activation from the IL and Senger’s demotion. Senger doesn’t offer much with his bat but he’s provided good defense and has fared pretty well for someone who was doing shift work before he got the call.
Did it really need a mention? Senger is nothing more than a third catcher. He’s only coming up when someone is injured, and will always go back down when that player comes back. And he might even lose that role by next July.