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NL East Notes: Acuna, Marlins, Betances, Strasburg

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Ronald Acuna Jr. left today’s game in the bottom of the fifth due to right pectoral tightness, but Braves manager Brian Snitker doesn’t believe the injury is too serious.  Snitker told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that the current belief is that Acuna won’t miss any games at all, as the star outfielder will get a chance to rest and recuperate during Atlanta’s off-day on Monday.

Acuna exited games twice earlier in the season with what turned out to be minor injuries — a bruised pinkie after a hit-by-pitch, and a mild abdominal strain suffered while on the basepaths.  A few missed games haven’t slowed down what is shaping up as an MVP-caliber season from the Atlanta superstar, as Acuna is hitting .282/.390/.597 with 18 home runs through 259 plate appearances.

More from the NL East…

  • Jose Devers and Corey Dickerson each left today’s Marlins game with injuries — Devers with right shoulder discomfort after a big swing early in the game, and Dickerson with foot soreness.  Manager Don Mattingly indicated to reporters that Dickerson’s removal was “precautionary,” while Devers could require more examination since the rookie’s shoulder has been bothering him for several days now.
  • Dellin Betances is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment today, Mets manager Luis Rojas told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters.  The right-hander pitched in one game before going on the injured list April 8 due to a shoulder impingement, and while it been a lengthy road to recovery for Betances, the early returns are promising.  “He’s had some really good reads with his fastball.  We’re pretty optimistic about him going into this assignment and keeping ramping things up….He did a good job in the progression, in strengthening the shoulder,” Rojas said, noting that Betances’ fastball was sitting in the 93-94mph range during live batting practice sessions.  Since signing with New York in the 2019-20 offseason, Betances has posted a 7.82 ERA and tossed only 12 2/3 innings over 16 appearances, due to an IL stint due to lat tightness in 2020 and this season’s shoulder problems.
  • Nationals manager Davey Martinez provided an update on Stephen Strasburg, telling reporters (including Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post) that the right-hander has yet to start throwing, as Strasburg is still feeling nerve irritation in his neck.  Strasburg was placed on the 10-day IL on June 2, and it isn’t yet clear when he might be back in action.  This is already Strasburg’s second IL trip of the year, as between shoulder inflammation and his current neck issue, the righty has tossed only 21 2/3 innings.  This comes on the heels of a 2020 season that saw Strasburg pitch five innings total due to carpal tunnel syndrome.  Injuries all over the roster have contributed to Washington’s 27-35 record, and Strasburg’s status could certainly factor into whether the Nats will keep trying for a late-season push, or perhaps look to sell at the trade deadline.

Previewing 2021-22 Opt-Out Clauses & Player Options

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Next year’s free-agent class is a legitimately star-studded group even when focusing only on true free agents who’ll hit the market due to service time or an expiring contract. But the class has the potential to become even stronger depending on the play of this year’s collection of veterans who have opt-out clauses and player options in their contracts. Their performance over the next five months will determine whether they opt for another trip to the free-agent market or simply stick with the remaining salary guaranteed to them on their existing deals.

We’re about a sixth of the way through the season, so it’s worth taking an early look at how this group is faring…

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals (can opt out of remaining six years, $179MM): Arenado, who was always a better hitter at Coors Field, is yet another example of the manner in which home/road splits are overstated with regard to Rockies players. The 30-year-old is now playing his home games at Busch Stadium and still raking at a .279/.336/.507 clip with top-notch defense at the hot corner. Arenado has stated that he plans “to be a Cardinal the rest of the way” and said there is a “very, very high” chance that will forgo the opt-out clause in his contract. After the Cardinals tacked a year and $15MM onto the original five years and $164MM he had remaining on the deal, there’s less incentive for him to test the market.

Trevor Bauer, RHP, Dodgers (can opt out of remaining two years, $62MM): While some might balk at the notion of Bauer opting out when he’s guaranteed a whopping $45MM next year on this front-loaded contract, the opt-out wouldn’t really be about 2022 — it’d be about improving upon the total guarantee. Right now, if Bauer were to suffer an injury in 2022, he’d have a $17MM player option for the 2023 season. If he opts out this winter, however, he could aim to negotiate something similar to or greater than his original three-year, $102MM guarantee with the Dodgers. Bauer could still secure a huge salary in year one of a new contract but give himself a greater safety net against injury or decline. He also won’t have a qualifying offer to deal with this time and would be entering what most expect to be a market with more teams willing to spend. With a 2.50 ERA, 34.7 percent strikeout rate and 7.3 percent walk rate, the current NL strikeout leader is enjoying the kind of start that will make him think about it.

Nick Castellanos, OF, Reds (can opt out of remaining two years, $34MM): If Castellanos keeps hitting anywhere near this pace, that opt-out clause will assuredly be exercised. His age-29 season has kicked off with an outstanding .303/.346/.607 slash, and he already has 18 extra-base hits (nine homers, eight doubles, one triple) in just 126 plate appearances. Castellanos fizzled after a similarly electric start in 2020, so we’ll have to see if he maintains — but he’s one of the best hitters on the planet right now.

Charlie Blackmon, OF, Rockies ($21MM player option for 2022; $10MM player option for 2023): The Colorado fan favorite has come to life after a woeful start to the 2020 season. Over his past 13 games, Blackmon is hitting .319/.396/.447 with more walks than strikeouts. That surge still only has his season line up to .222/.328/.343 in 125 plate appearances, though, so Blackmon has plenty of work to do before he’d even consider opting out of a $21MM payday in what will be his age-35 season.

J.D. Martinez, OF/DH, Red Sox ($19.375MM player option for 2022): An ugly 2020 season had many wondering whether Martinez was beginning to decline. It seems safe to stop wondering. The first few weeks of the 2021 season have been some of the finest of JDM’s career; offense around the league is down, but he apparently didn’t get the memo, as he’s destroyed opposing pitchers at a .331/.416/.632 clip. His  10 dingers give him a share of the MLB lead. While there were some conflicting reports on the number of opt-outs in his contract at the time of the deal, MLBTR confirmed this week that Martinez has a $19.375MM player option for the 2022 season on his deal, so he’s controlling his own fate, so to speak. If he keeps hitting like this, why wouldn’t he test the market again (or at least parlay his performance into an extension in Boston)?

Jackie Bradley Jr., OF, Brewers ($11MM player option for 2022): The Bradley signing hasn’t panned out for the Brewers just yet. No one should be surprised to hear that Bradley has excellent defensive ratings through his first 260 innings in center field, but he’s hitting a mere .175/.242/.316 in 124 plate appearances. Bradley didn’t sign until a few weeks into Spring Training, and we’ve seen plenty of late signees start slowly in the past, but so far things aren’t going great.

Jurickson Profar, INF/OF, Padres ($6.5MM player option for 2022; $7.5MM player option for 2023): Profar hasn’t been anywhere near the hitter he was in 2020, slashing just .234/.333/.308 through 128 trips to the plate. The investment in Profar was always a risk. He was one of the least-productive hitters in the National League for the first month of the 2020 season and only salvaged his year with a blistering .375/.398/.534 showing in his final 93 plate appearances. That well-timed hot streak rather stunningly earned him a three-year guarantee and multiple opt-out opportunities, and he’ll need some more of that magic if he’s going to consider walking away from the $14MM he’s still owed beyond 2021. Profar is currently on the Covid-related IL for contact-tracing purposes.

Kevin Pillar, OF, Mets ($2.9MM player option for 2022): Pillar entered the season with a sub-.300 OBP for his career, and he’s not doing that mark any favors in 2021. We’re only looking at 66 plate appearances, but his .254/.288/.381 output looks more like his below-average career line than last year’s stronger showing. Pillar found a pretty frosty market for his services even on the heels of last summer’s .288/.336/.462 performance, so if he doesn’t turn things around at the plate, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him pick up the option.

Justin Wilson, LHP, Yankees ($2.3MM player option for 2022; Yankees hold $7.15MM club option/$1.15MM buyout if Wilson declines): Wilson has served up a pair of homers, walked five batters, hit a batter, and yielded a total of six runs in 8 2/3 innings. He also opened the year on the IL due to shoulder soreness, and his average fastball velocity is down at 93.7 mph after sitting at 95.1 mph in each of the past two seasons. A reliever with Wilson’s track record can turn things around in a hurry, but it hasn’t been the start he or the team envisioned. If Wilson exercises his player option, it triggers a 2023 club option valued at $500K over the league minimum, meaning he’d only do so with a particularly poor year on the mound.

Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees ($2.3MM player option for 2022; Yankees hold $7.15M club option/$1.15MM buyout if Gardner declines): The Yankees lifer hasn’t shown much life at the plate in 2021, hitting .190/.284/.238 in 75 turns at the dish. He has just one multi-hit game to his credit so far in 2021 and is being used in his most limited role ever.

Darren O’Day, Yankees, RHP ($1.4MM player option for 2022): The 38-year-old O’Day has been great for the Yankees through nine innings, but he’s currently on the injured list due to a strained rotator cuff in his shoulder. As long as he comes back and demonstrates his health, he should be expected to decline his option in favor of a $700K buyout. He’s only securing himself an additional $700K if he picks the option up — barely more than the current league minimum (which could very well rise in the offseason CBA talks).

Dellin Betances, RHP, Mets ($1-3MM player option depending on number of games pitched): Betances needs to reach 60 games pitched in 2021 for his player option to be valued at $2MM and 70 games for it to check in at $3MM. So far, he’s pitched one. It’s all but certain to be a $1MM player option on the righty, who may still take the deal given how catastrophic the last few years have been. Betances is on the 60-day IL with a shoulder impingement at the moment, and since Opening Day 2019, he’s totaled just 13 2/3 innings due to injuries.

Beyond this group, there’s also a conditional player option in the Mariners’ deal with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. Seattle has until three days after the World Series wraps up to decide whether it wants to exercise a quartet of one-year, $16.5MM options on Kikuchi — a total of four years and $66MM. All four must be exercised together. If they do not make that sizable investment, Kikuchi then has a one-year, $13MM player option for the 2022 season on which he must decide.

At least based on Kikuchi’s career numbers in MLB, it seems unlikely that the Mariners would pick up their end of the deal. He’s compiled a 5.22 ERA through his first 246 1/3 big league innings. That said, Kikuchi saw a major velocity spike in 2020 that he’s actually improved upon again in 2021. Fielding-independent metrics were much more bullish on him than ERA in 2020 (3.30 FIP, 3.37 xERA, 3.78 xFIP, 4.34 SIERA), and this year’s current 4.30 ERA is respectable. He’s also sporting career-bests in swinging-strike rate, opponents’ chase rate, walk rate and ground-ball rate.

It’s still a long shot that the Mariners will pick up all four years on Kikuchi, who’ll turn 30 in June. However, that may simply set him up for a return to the market. It’s certainly plausible that he pitches well enough to command more than the $13MM salary on his player option but less than the four years and $66MM on the Mariners’ end of the arrangement.

Mets Notes: Carrasco, Syndergaard, Betances

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Carlos Carrasco is expected to make his regular season debut by the second week of May, Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News) this afternoon. The righty completed a four-inning simulated game today, per the skipper.

Acquired from the Indians in the Francisco Lindor offseason blockbuster, Carrasco was delayed by elbow discomfort early in Spring Training and then suffered a right hamstring tear during his rehab. That setback has thus far kept Carrasco from debuting for his new team, but it seems he’s only a couple weeks away from doing so. The 34-year-old was very effective last year for Cleveland, tossing 68 innings of 2.91 ERA ball with a strong 29.3% strikeout rate and a passable 9.6% walk rate.

Mets starters have more than held their own in Carrasco’s absence. New York entered play today ranked fifth with a 2.61 rotation ERA, while the group’s 2.90 SIERA is best in the league. Jacob deGrom has been incredible as usual, while Marcus Stroman, David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi all have solid peripherals (and in Stroman’s case, a stellar ERA). Taijuan Walker has struggled with his control but has so far done well keeping runs off the board.

Of course, Carrasco isn’t the only key starter working his way back from injury. Noah Syndergaard continues to rehab from March 2020 Tommy John surgery. He hit a milestone in that process, with Rojas telling reporters the hard-throwing righty pitched an inning in a scrimmage today (via Tim Healey of Newsday). The 28-year-old is hoping to return to game action by the end of June.

The news was not so positive for reliever Dellin Betances. The right-hander has been out since April 8 with a right shoulder impingement, and he apparently wasn’t in line to return anytime soon. The Mets transferred Betances to the 60-day injured list this afternoon (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). That frees up a 40-man roster spot but rules Betances out until at least the second week of June. It continues a nightmarish couple of seasons for the 33-year-old, who has managed just 12.2 disappointing innings since signing with the Mets over the 2019-20 offseason.

NL Injury Notes: Braves, Myers, Betances, Cain

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The Braves don’t have a timetable yet for injured right-handers Mike Soroka and Chris Martin to return, per David O’Brien of The Athletic. Soroka missed almost all of last season with a torn right Achilles, and as he was working his way back, the Braves had to shut him down because of shoulder inflammation. Martin went on the IL with the same issue on April 10 (retroactive to April 7). Between their injuries and Max Fried’s placement on the IL because of a hamstring strain, the Braves are without three of their most important pitchers.

  • Padres right fielder Wil Myers left their game Tuesday with right knee inflammation and was not in their starting lineup Wednesday. Myers has been dealing with patellar tenonitis, but it’s not believed he’ll miss much time or require surgery, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Even though Myers has had to play through discomfort, it hasn’t had an obvious effect on his production. On the heels of a massive rebound in 2020, he has begun this year with a torrid .341/.438/.659 line and three home runs in 48 plate appearances.
  • Mets reliever Dellin Betances, on the 10-day IL since April 8 with a right shoulder impingement, is still a ways from returning. Betances hasn’t begun throwing, and he won’t travel with the Mets for their April 16-22 road trip, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. Injuries have been a constant problem over the past few years for Betances, a four-time All-Star who has thrown only 13 1/3 innings dating back to his final season with the Yankees in 2019. The Mets had high hopes for a Betances bounce-back effort when they signed him to a $10.5MM guarantee during the ensuing winter, but he yielded 10 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings in 2020. So far this year, Betances has made one appearance and thrown one inning, in which he allowed an earned run and a walk.
  • The Brewers have placed center fielder Lorenzo Cain on the 10-day IL with a strained left quad and recalled outfielder Tyrone Taylor, the team announced. There’s no word on how much time Cain will miss, but he strained his other quad during the spring and was limited to seven exhibition games as a result. The 35-year-old has gotten off to a slow start this season with a .154/.214/.423 line in 28 plate appearances.

Mets Place Dellin Betances On Injured List, Call Up Trevor Hildenberger

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The Mets have placed right-hander Dellin Betances on the 10-day injured list because of a right shoulder impingement, per Newsday’s Tim Healey and others (via Twitter). Trevor Hildenberger will take his place on the active roster. Hildenberger will be added to the 40-man roster, which will now be full.

Betances, 33, made his first appearance of the season yesterday. He surrendered one run in one inning of work without giving up a hit. He walked one and struck out one. Injuries have been a central piece of Betances’ narrative since joining the Mets. He threw 11 2/3 innings last year in 15 appearances, finishing with a 7.71 ERA/4.91 FIP while striking out just 18.6 percent of hitters and struggling with his control. He had a 20.3 percent walk rate in 2020. This, of course, came after injuries robbed him of all but one appearance in his final season with the Yankees.

Hildenberger now becomes the latest solution to the Mets’ bullpen woes. The 30-year-old didn’t appear in the Majors last season, signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox but never making it to the roster. He does have 132 appearances from his time with the Twins from 2017 to 2019.

He was particularly good in his debut season back in 2017 when he made 37 appearances with a 3.21 ERA/3.02 FIP. The ball did not bounce his way the following two campaigns, however, when he posted a combined 6.35 ERA across 95 appearances totaling 89 1/3 innings, despite having a 4.58 FIP over that same span. An absurdly-high .459 BABIP over 22 appearances in 2019 might have been to blame for his bloated ERA that season.

NL Notes: Arrieta, Realmuto, Brault, Betances

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Jake Arrieta signed a one-year, $6MM deal with the Cubs last month, returning to the site of his Cy Young Award-winning prime years.  Arrieta’s initial great run in Chicago could have been cut short, however, had the Marlins been willing to include J.T. Realmuto as part of a trade package with the Cubs in 2014, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes.  The Marlins weren’t in contention in 2014 but were looking ahead to build for 2015, eyeing Arrieta as a big rotation piece.  It was known at the time that the Cubs were floating Arrieta on the trade market, perhaps looking to sell high after Arrieta had turned his career around after previously being dealt from the Orioles to the Cubs.

Interestingly, Realmuto was not regarded as a blue-chip minor leaguer at the time, as he didn’t appear on top-100 prospect lists from either MLB.com or Baseball America until after the 2014 season.  After middling numbers in his first four pro seasons, Realmuto emerged in 2014 while playing for Miami’s Double-A affiliate and even bypassed Triple-A that year to make an 11-game MLB cameo on the Marlins’ active roster.  Still, the Marlins obviously believed in Realmuto’s potential, and the trade negotiations fizzled out.

As we ponder the alternate reality where the Arrieta-for-Realmuto trade went down, here’s more from the National League…

  • Pirates starter Steven Brault left Friday’s outing after only two innings due to tightness in his left arm, and is day to day with the injury.  The team’s statement specified that Brault’s issue was with his latissimus muscle, rather than any forearm or elbow tightness.  Still, any sort of injury concern isn’t welcome news for Brault or the Pirates, as Brault is projected for one of the top spots in Pittsburgh’s rotation.  The southpaw had a 3.38 ERA/5.07 SIERA over 42 2/3 innings for the Bucs last season, allowing only two home runs and doing a good job of limiting hard contact, though Brault was aided by a .243 BABIP and his 21.3K% was below average.
  • With Dellin Betances struggling in Spring Training, could the Mets decide to part ways with the reliever entirely?  SNY’s Andy Martino thinks it may be a possibility, if the Mets see Betances as something of “a sunk cost” who won’t help their efforts to contend.  One would imagine the Mets would try to shop Betances in trades before considering a release, though it isn’t as if Betances’ trade value is high following a rough first season in Queens.  The righty posted a 7.71 ERA over 11 2/3 innings in 2020, recorded more walks (12) than strikeouts (11) and spent a month on the IL due to a lat injury.  Unsurprisingly, Betances exercised his $6MM player option to remain with the Mets rather than test free agency in the wake of his down year.  A four-time All-Star in his heyday with the Yankees, Betances missed almost all of the 2019 season due to shoulder problems and then a partial Achilles tear.

Dellin Betances Exercises $6MM Player Option To Remain With Mets

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TODAY: Betances has indeed exercised his option, the Mets announced (Twitter link).

OCTOBER 31: Dellin Betances is likely to accept a $6MM player option to stay with the New York Mets rather than take a $3MM buyout, per MLB Insider Jon Heyman (via Twitter).

It’s telling that Betances would take the guaranteed money here. If Betances thinks he can get more than $3MM on the open market, it would make sense to take the buyout. Given the expectations for a depressed free agent market, it’s not shocking that Betances would take the $6MM to stay in his hometown – the only baseball town he’s ever known.

Betances was once one of the top setup men in baseball with the Yankees, but a partial tear of his Achilles in September of 2019 ended his tenure with the Yankees and sent him to the free agent market. He posted a 2.36 ERA over 358 appearances with the Yankees in his 8 seasons there.

In his first action since the injury, Betances made 15 appearances for the Mets in 2020 but struggled to a 7.71 ERA/4.91 FIP in 11 2/3 innings with a troubling 0.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Betances has been missing a key weapon from his arsenal since his return: his 93.6 mph heater not particularly close to the 97.7 mph four-seamer he sported in his heyday with the Yankees.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Doolittle, Mets, Nido, Betances

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Sean Doolittle is entering a winter with more contractual uncertainty than he’s ever faced in his career. Unlike most ballplayers who’ve been in the majors as long as he has, he’s never been a free agent before, and because of an early extension he signed with the A’s, he never even went through arbitration. Still, the 33-year-old southpaw is primarily focused on returning to Washington, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Doolittle and his wife are entrenched in the D.C. community, and she wants to stay in Washington. Of course, Doolittle knows nothing is guaranteed in free agency, especially coming off the season he just had. Inconsistency and injury kept Doolittle from ever really looking like the guy that has been the rock of the Nats’ bullpen for years. He finished the season with a 5.87 ERA over just 11 contests, but a strong final few outings provided some hope that this season might be a blip on Doolittle’s return to health – and dominance. As a two-pitch pitcher without elite velocity, there’s not a lot of room for error in Doolittle’s arsenal. But when he’s on, he’s a guy a team can lean on in a postseason run. The Nationals know that. Whether or not GM Mike Rizzo is able to re-sign Doolittle will probably come down to price point. Everything else points to Doolittle staying in the city that’s become his home over the last 3 1/2 seasons.

  • Tomas Nido confirmed that complications from COVID-19 ended his season, tweets Newsday’s Tim Healey. Said Nido via instagram: “Unfortunately, my season was cut short after getting Covid and other related complications while trying to come back. Time to turn the page and prepare for a strong 2021.” Nido appeared in just 7 games for the Mets this season, his fourth straight of seeing time in the bigs. For his career, the 26-year-old backstop holds a .197/.234/.319 triple slash across 270 plate appearances. Veterans Wilson Ramos and Robinson Chirinos handled most of the catching responsibilities for the Mets this season, but both could be free agents. The Mets hold $10MM team option for the 33-year-old Ramos and $6.25MM team option for the 36-year-old Chirinos. Ramos has a $1.25M buyout, while Chirinos’ buyout is for $1MM. Nido remains under team control – and he’s out of options – so he’ll either need to be a part of the catching picture for the Mets in 2021 or risk exposure to waivers.
  • Dellin Betances holds a $6MM player option for 2021 to remain with the Mets, and it’s unclear what direction he’s leaning as of now, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). As DiComo notes, the option comes with a $3MM buyout, so Betances’ decision really comes down to a $3MM question. Even after a season in which he made just 14 appearances for a 5.56 ERA/4.34 FIP across 11 1/3 innings with 7.9 K/9 to 7.1 BB/9, it’s reasonable to expect someone to bid that much for a reliever with high-end upside like Betances. Still, it’s now been two seasons since Betances was a dominant arm out of the pen, and as a New York native who’s spent his entire major-league career in New York, he may look for a way to remain with the Mets. Betances averaged 93.4 mph on his four-seamer this season, a far cry from his days as a 96-97 mph high-leverage arm with the Yankees.

 

Latest On Dellin Betances

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The Mets have been without reliever Dellin Betances since he went on the injured list Aug. 30 with right lat tightness, and it doesn’t appear a return is imminent. Manager Luis Rojas said Wednesday that Betances’ “timeline is uncertain,” Tim Britton of The Athletic relays.

With little time left in the regular season and the 21-27 Mets looking unlikely to make the playoffs, it’s possible Betances has thrown his last pitch of 2020. Either way, this will go down as the second straight injury-shortened year for Betances, a former Yankee who missed almost all of 2019 with shoulder and Achilles problems. The four-time All-Star then signed for a guaranteed $10.5MM with the Mets last winter, but thanks largely to a couple of rough outings, Betances hasn’t put up his usual numbers.

Before going on the IL, the 32-year-old Betances pitched to a 6.10 ERA/4.27 FIP with by far a career-worst 6.97 (he owns a lifetime 14.44 K/9) and 6.1 BB/9 in 10 1/3 innings. Along the way, Betances averaged 93.3 mph on his fastball – well below his personal mean of 97.2.

The deal Betances inked with the Mets includes options for 2021 and ’22. For next season, he’ll be able to return to the club on a $6MM player option. Considering how this year has gone for him, it seems unlikely Betances will reject that sum in favor of a $3MM buyout.

Mets Place Steven Matz, Dellin Betances On 10-Day IL

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The Mets have placed relievers Steven Matz and Dellin Betances on the 10-day injured list, per various reporters (including Joel Sherman of the New York Post). Matz is dealing with left shoulder discomfort, while Betances has right lat tightness. Fellow relievers Drew Smith and Franklyn Kilome have been recalled from the alternate training site in their stead. Additionally, right-hander Ariel Jurado is up as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Yankees.

Matz, recently moved to the bullpen after a rough start to the year in the rotation, left his first relief appearance after only one inning. It’s been a difficult season for Betances, as well. In 10.1 relief innings across 13 games, he’s allowed seven runs (all earned) on seven walks against eight strikeouts. His fastball velocity, meanwhile, is down five miles per hour from his peak with the Yankees. While both of these pitchers have had injury troubles in the past, it’s fair to wonder how big a role the Mets’ schedule played in these cases. New York was forced to take a five-day hiatus following a pair of positive COVID-19 tests in the organization last weekend.

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