NEW YORK — The Mets knew something was wrong. For a couple of weeks now, right-hander Reed Garrett hasn’t been the same pitcher. It has resulted in him being placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation on Monday.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza revealed that Garrett has been struggling to recover between outings. After a catch session on Sunday, the club decided to take a closer look at his throwing arm.
Advertisement
“He got an MRI this morning, and we got relatively good news,” Mendoza said before taking on the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. “The ligament is perfect. It just showed inflammation. So he’s gonna get a cortisone shot, shut down for a couple of days, and then we’ll get him going again.”
Barring any setbacks, Garrett is expected to return as soon as he is eligible to come off the injured list.
In the meantime, left-hander José Castillo has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take Garrett’s place.
Garrett’s performance has seen a significant downturn recently. After posting a 2.45 ERA (13 earned runs in 47 2/3 innings) in his first 49 appearances, he has struggled in his last five outings, recording a 15.43 ERA (8 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings).
Advertisement
This has resulted in his ERA jumping from 2.45 to 3.61 on the season.
Garrett has been one of the bright spots since the Mets nabbed him off waivers in the summer of 2023. Since then, he’s served many roles in the bullpen, including set-up man.
With the addition of Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto at the trade deadline, Garrett has been relegated to a fifth or sixth-inning role, a crucial role in the current pitching landscape, especially given the Mets starters’ struggles to pitch deep into games.
In 54 appearances this season, Garrett has a 3.61 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Manny Gómez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.