Inside The Mets

Mets face 'very challenging' decision about A.J. Minter's future

The New York Mets have a tough choice on their hands when it comes to one of their key bullpen pieces.
Grant Young|
Apr 4, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher A.J. Minter (33) reacts after the top of the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Apr 4, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher A.J. Minter (33) reacts after the top of the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

The New York Mets suffered a brutal blow to their bullpen last weekend when southpaw hurler A.J. Minter exited the team's April 26 game after throwing just nine pitches because of what was later deemed a lat strain.

It's clear that Minter will miss a significant amount of time. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza made this apparent during an April 29 press conference by saying, "All we know right now is we're dealing with a pretty significant injury here," per SNY.

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Mendoza also noted that surgery could be on the table for Minter, which would end his 2025 season.

No decision has been made regarding whether Minter should get surgery. And during a May 2 appearance on the New York Post Sports show, NYU Langone sports orthopedic surgeon Kirk A. Campbell discussed whether Minter should get surgery.

"Very challenging situation," Campbell said about the decision around how to handle Minter's injury. "The latissimus dorsi, one of the largest muscles... plays a critical role in the way that pitchers throw. Big decision, in terms of decision making [for surgery]. Depends on the grade of the injury."

Campbell later added, "Based on the grade... is it something he's able to rehab, or is it something that will require surgical intervention? I don't have access to his medical information, but based on the information out there, it seems like it's a higher grade tear if they're considering surgery. Which we rarely do perform for these types of injuries."

So while Dr. Campbell didn't provide a clear recommendation for how the Mets should handle Minter's injury, the bottom line is that since surgery is clearly on the table, the lat strain is severe enough to potentially end Minter's season.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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