Mets Receive Good News on High-Leverage Reliever After MRI

The New York Mets can exhale, as one of their most important players dodged a bullet.

Setup man Reed Garrett underwent an MRI on his throwing elbow, which revealed nerve inflammation but no structural damage. Manager Carlos Mendoza revealed the good news in a postgame presser on Thursday.

“[The MRI] just showed inflammation of the nerve, so the [UCL] is good,” Mendoza said. “We wanted to make sure that multiple people took a look at him, so that’s why it took a little bit longer to deliver the news. But that’s a good sign, so we’re looking at somewhere between 2-4 weeks before he’s pitching for us again.”

This is certainly one of the best-case scenarios for both the team and Garrett, who seemingly will not need season-ending surgery on his elbow. Before his injury, the 31-year-old right-handed reliever made 36 appearances and logged 42 innings, over twice as many frames as his previous career-high. As the Mets’ setup man and occasional closer when Edwin Diaz wasn’t available, Garrett has a 7-3 record with eight holds, four saves, a 3.64 ERA and 3.75 FIP, and 63 strikeouts (13.50 K/9) against 22 walks (4.71 BB/9). His 0.4 fWAR is tied with Sean Reid-Foley for the second highest among the team’s relievers, behind only Dedniel Nunez (0.6).

Nonetheless, losing Garrett for at least two weeks makes it even more imperative for the Mets to acquire bullpen arms at the trade deadline. After a 7-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon, New York has officially moved into the third Wild Card spot in the NL; although they are technically tied with the San Diego Padres, the Mets currently hold the advantage by one winning percentage point (.511 vs .510).

Garrett was a key component for the Mets making it as far as they have this year due to his availability and usual effectiveness. Now, it’s time for the rest of the bullpen to hold firm as their setup man recovers.