As Spring Training comes to a close, the New York Mets were still trying to figure out if either Seth Lugo or Rafael Montero will get the final spot in the bullpen. Well, Newsday’s Marc Craig is now reporting that for now it will be Rafael Montero who will get the last spot over Seth Lugo. This is simply because the Mets now have plans of putting Seth Lugo on the disabled list when the season starts.
[Jon]
While it is not great news to hear a pitcher be put on the disabled list for any amount of time, the only bit of great news to come out of this is that there is no structural damage to Lugo’s elbow. According to Mets manager Terry Collins, the elbow soreness that is putting Lugo on the shelf is more than likely due to him pitching late into games during the World Baseball Classic. He also struggled a bit in Spring Training. When Seth Lugo pitched last season for the Mets, they were 7-1. In his relief appearances, he ended up having an ERA at 2.65 and struck out roughly 4 ½ batters per appearance.
It seems that it has become almost the norm that players who participate in the World Baseball Classic are more likely to be injured for the parts of the regular season. This also happens to be one reason why several managers are not fans of when the WBC happens because the injury risk runs much higher.
Since there was zero structural damage in Lugo’s elbow, I don’t suspect that he will be out very long at all. Montero being given that final spot is not a bad thing as he has an ERA this Spring Training of 1.77.
The 2017 season for the New York Mets begins on Monday, April 3rd as they open against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.