Mets' Christian Scott to resume throwing this week in bid to avoid surgery
Mets pitcher Christian Scott looks on from the dugout before an MLB game against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 24. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
DENVER — His elbow soreness dissipated, Mets righthander Christian Scott is scheduled to resume throwing imminently, a welcomed step in his bid to avoid major surgery.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday that optimism regarding Scott’s ability to return this season will rest largely on what happens with his arm once he actually starts baseball activity.
“That should happen in the next few days,” Mendoza said before the Mets’ series opener against the Rockies. “We’re getting positive results there . . . I don’t think [Scott needed or got a follow-up MRI]. I don’t have an update there yet. I was just told that he’s feeling pretty good. All the soreness and everything that he had [is gone], so he’s getting close to a throwing program.”
Scott, 25, has been on the injured list since July 23 with a sprained UCL in his right elbow. The Mets’ initial plan called for a two-week shutdown, then see what happens. Although he realized at the time that surgery, which would end his 2024 season and threaten his 2025, was a possibility, Scott said then that “I feel confident about the position we’re in.” He also called it “better than the worst-case scenario right now.”
With those two weeks up and Scott feeling well, the Mets are moving forward with getting him back on the mound.
All of the above remains similar to an injury episode Scott dealt with last summer: an elbow problem, followed by a period of rest. He returned briefly in the minors toward the end of last season, which gave him confidence about his elbow going into the offseason and spring training.
This time is trickier, since Scott is in the majors and the Mets are trying to make the playoffs. If healthy, he would stand to help a rotation situation that features minimal depth beyond the starting five. Scott has a 4.56 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in nine games.
Late-season/playoff considerations are a secondary concern, however, to the bigger picture of Scott’s well being.
“We want what’s best for the guy, for the player,” Mendoza said. “The biggest thing is we gotta keep him healthy. We want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for him and that he’s making the right decision himself. So we just gotta wait.”
Big day for Marte
Starling Marte will begin a rehabilitation assignment Wednesday when he serves as the DH for Low-A St. Lucie, Mendoza said. He hasn’t played since late June because of a right knee bone bruise.
Split the difference
A curious trend with no obvious explanation: Righthanded-hitting outfielders Tyrone Taylor and Harrison Bader have fared far better this year against righthanded pitchers than lefthanded ones.
That runs counter to their career track records as well as baseball norms.
“I’m trying to figure that one out too,” said Mendoza, who had both in the lineup against lefthander Kyle Freeland on Tuesday.
Taylor entered the day batting .267 with a .771 OPS against righties, .177 and .505 against lefties. For Bader, those numbers were .299 and .788 against righties, .214 and .588 against lefties.
Taylor said he doesn’t like to look at platoon splits because “I like going up to the plate believing I can hit anybody.”
“I work hard to make adjustments constantly,” he said. “I think it’s something that ends up balancing out. I like analytics and stuff, but I don’t really care for that stuff.”
Extra bases
Pete Alonso returned to the cleanup spot against the Rockies a day after dropping to fifth against the Cardinals. Mendoza said that is subject to change daily, based in part on whether the Mets are facing a lefthanded or righthanded starter. “It all depends on the personnel that is going to be in the lineup that day,” he said . . . The Mets plan for Dedniel Nunez (right forearm strain) to throw a bullpen session by the end of the week . . . Reed Garrett (right elbow nerve inflammation) struck out three batters but allowed a double and walk in a rehab inning for Triple-A Syracuse. Sean Reid-Foley (right shoulder impingement) is scheduled for a minor-league appearance Wednesday . . . When Brandon Nimmo was a free agent during the 2022-23 offseason, did the Rockies — his favorite and closest team as a kid in Wyoming — pursue him? “They never reached out,” Nimmo said.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
