Mets Place Taijuan Walker On IL, Trevor May Diagnosed With Triceps Strain
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The injuries to the Mets' pitching staff have continued to pile up in the early stages of the season.
On Tuesday, the Mets placed starter Taijuan Walker on the 10-day injured list after his MRI revealed right shoulder bursitis.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, shoulder bursitis occurs when there is inflammation of the bursa in the shoulder, which sometimes causes swelling or redness.
Walker, who left his first start of the year on Monday after just two innings, did not believe his injury was serious. And based off his reaction to the MRI results, it sounds like he isn't too concerned with the diagnosis.
After learning of his results, Walker tweeted: "Everything is all good!"
As manager Buck Showalter told reporters at Citizens Bank Park, Walker will likely require a rehab start before being activated from the I.L. That is because Walker's last two outings lasted a combined 3.1 innings due to the shoulder injury on Monday, and knee soreness in his final start of Grapefruit League play. Walker underwent a debridement procedure on his knee in mid-January after injuring it during an offseason workout.
With Walker on the shelf for the time being, Showalter said lefty David Peterson is a candidate to replace Walker in the rotation, but the skipper would not commit to this plan.
Peterson appears to be the most logical choice to replace Walker, given that Tylor Megill has already been called upon to take Jacob deGrom's spot in the rotation. Peterson entered in relief of Walker on Monday, and tossed four shutout innings with three strikeouts against the Phillies' high-powered lineup. Showalter was very impressed with Peterson's performance in his season debut.
“If we’d have won that game,” Showalter said, “it would have been on Pete’s shoulders.”
Trevor May Update
Setup man Trevor May also left last night's matchup with arm fatigue. And like Walker, he was satisfied with his MRI results as well, tweeting a thumbs up emoji earlier this afternoon.
But unlike Walker, and fortunately for the Mets, May will likely be able to avoid an I.L stint.
May told reporters at Citizens Bank Park that he has a "very" low grade triceps strain. The righty called himself day-to-day and will take anti-inflammatories, which usually do the trick in this situation, per May.
Edwin Diaz Back Just In Time
With the Mets down one of their top relief pitchers, at least on Tuesday, in May, Edwin Diaz returns from the bereavement list at the nick of time.
Diaz's grandfather passed away during Friday night's game with the Nationals. As a result, the closer traveled to Puerto Rico to be with his family on the following day.
The Mets' bullpen has blown two late leads in consecutive days, which have led to back-to-back losses. The hope is that Diaz can help this unit get back on track.
Read More:
- Bullpen Blows Late-Lead For Second Straight Day As Mets Drop Two In A Row
- Mets' Taijuan Walker Exits Start With Shoulder Injury
- Carlos Carrasco Shines In Season Debut, Mets Fail To Sweep Nationals After Late Collapse
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