Mets place Trevor May on IL without injury designation
Trevor May of the Mets pitches during the seventh inning against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 22. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Just as Trevor May was starting to figure it out, he has to stop.
The Mets put the righthanded reliever on the injured list Saturday without a specific injury designation, which in recent seasons has been code for a COVID-19-related situation. “You can probably figure it out in today’s world,” manager Buck Showalter said.
Stays on the COVID IL do not include any minimum length. If the stint indeed is COVID-related, May can return as soon as he is symptom-free and meets testing and other requirements.
The Mets called up righty reliever Bryce Montas de Oca from Triple-A Syracuse.
For May, the timing is particularly unfortunate. His season-high three consecutive scoreless outings featured five strikeouts (one walk) and no hits in 2 1⁄3 innings. He even picked up a couple of holds in that span, re-earning the trust of Showalter to pitch in high-leverage situations.
May previously missed three months because of a stress reaction in his right humerus.
This is the 26-year-old Montas de Oca’s first time in the majors. He does not rank among the Mets’ top prospects but nonetheless is an intriguing bullpen option because he hits 100 mph with his sinker — a big reason he has struck out 14.4 batters per nine innings with Syracuse. Montas de Oca’s biggest problem is walks; he averages 6.3 per nine innings. He had a 4.18 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in the minors this year.
His major-league debut Saturday — a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in a 7-1 loss to the Nationals — had a little bit of everything: a walk, a hit, a strikeout and two sinkers that reached 100.
“I thought he was pretty calm, too. Obviously, the stuff is there. I was impressed how he was around the strike zone with everything,” Showalter said. “You can see why everybody is so high on him. He’s got a good arm and I like his delivery. We’ll see. It’s a guy we think has a good future.”
Montas de Oca, who is from Kansas, comes with a local connection: He said he has relatives in West Islip and his dad grew up in the “the Harlem/Bronx area.”
Joey the reliever
Lefthander Joey Lucchesi’s transition to relief has begun. His two perfect innings for Low-A St. Lucie on Saturday was his second appearance out of four in which he came out of the bullpen, which is where Showalter said the Mets view his short-term and potentially long-term future.
“People like him, think he could be a help this year or next, whenever,” Showalter said. “So we’re going to run down that path and see where we are as a club when we get to the point where he is an option. He’s not close to being an option yet.”
Lucchesi had Tommy John surgery in June 2021.
Extra bases
Tylor Megill (strained right shoulder) is scheduled to pitch one inning for Double-A Binghamton Sunday. He’ll then join Syracuse for another couple of appearances, stretching out to multiple innings . . . Drew Smith (strained right lat) will start a rehab assignment next Saturday, Showalter said . . . Carlos Carrasco (strained left oblique) will have an innings/pitch limit in his return Sunday, said Showalter, who declined to specify. The Mets will need to drop a pitcher to make room for him . . . Outfielder Nick Plummer, who has been with Syracuse, is out with a dislocated shoulder, according to Showalter . . . Edwin Diaz was wearing a black “Mark Canha Summer” tank top before the game. He said he didn’t know where it came from, just that a box of them showed up in the clubhouse.
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.
