Mets Place Struggling High-Leverage Reliever on IL With Elbow Issue

The New York Mets have placed this struggling high-leverage reliever on the IL due to an elbow injury.

Jun 25, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Reed Garrett (75) reacts after giving up a grand slam home run to New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) during the eighth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports | Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets' struggling bullpen has lost a high-leverage arm to the injured list.

On Wednesday, the team announced that right-handed reliever Reed Garrett is headed to the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation.

Manager Carlos Mendoza later told reporters that Garrett is undergoing an MRI after experiencing elbow and forearm discomfort after his latest outing.

Carlos Mendoza says that Reed Garrett is getting an MRI after complaining about elbow and forearm discomfort following last night's outing: pic.twitter.com/O6YqOM0Hw9

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2024

Garrett got off to a terrific start with a 0.57 ERA across 15.1 innings in April, but has mostly had a rough go of things ever since, which could be a result of over usage. The 31-year-old journeymen has already logged 42 innings this season while posting a 3.64 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, 63 strikeouts and four saves.

That said, he has been pretty shaky dating back to May. In his latest appearance, he allowed three runs to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday before the Mets ultimately placed him on the shelf.

The good news is that newcomer, righty reliever Phil Maton, has been activated to potentially inject some reliability into a Mets bullpen that has been beaten up by injuries and underperformance.

Maton, 31, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday for cash or a player to be named later. The veteran hurler has a 4.58 ERA on the year, but has a dazzling 0.75 ERA in his last 12 innings pitched.

According to president of baseball operations David Stearns, the team targeted Maton in the offseason and have been talking to the Rays and other clubs for the past several weeks regarding bullpen help.

Stearns feels that the recent adjustments that Maton has made should translate well to a bullpen that is in desperate need of a boost.

Beyond closer Edwin Diaz, who has been up-and-down, and Dedniel Nunez, the Mets haven't really been able to rely on many other relievers in their 'pen. They've also lost both lefty Brooks Raley and longest tenured Mets pitcher Drew Smith to season-ending Tommy John surgeries.

The hope is that Maton's recent success will help the Mets moving forward. As for Garrett, the Mets will be crossing their fingers that he avoids something serious, but the initial reports don't sound great.

In the meantime, the Mets also recalled lefty reliever Danny Young and optioned Eric Orze back to Triple-A Syracuse.