NEW YORK -- Anthony Swarzak's disjointed season continued Sunday with another trip to the disabled list, knocking the Mets reliever out for at least the next 10 days.
Following his last appearance Friday against the Braves, Swarzak complained of right shoulder discomfort. An MRI taken the following day revealed no structural damage, but enough inflammation to send Swarzak to the DL. The Mets recalled right-hander Jacob Rhame from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace him.
"It's just one of those things where in baseball, it is going to happen," said Swarzak, whom the Mets signed to a two-year, $14 million contract last winter. "For a relief pitcher, you're going to have times where you just need a couple of days, and that's what I'm going through right now. This isn't a catastrophic injury of any kind. This is more of a precautionary thing to get out ahead of something that could be a serious injury."
In 22 appearances this season, Swarzak has posted a 6.00 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 10 walks -- numbers that hardly tell the story of his campaign. Missing most of Spring Training due to a left calf strain, Swarzak returned in time for the start of the regular season, but appeared in just two games before straining his left oblique. What he originally hoped would be a two-week injury turned into a nine-week DL stint.
When Swarzak returned, he struggled, posting an 8.16 ERA in his first 16 games back. Looking back, Swarzak says, he can trace his issues to the adjustments he made recovering from his oblique injury. But Swarzak had recently emerged from that funk, compiling four consecutive scoreless outings with two saves before the most recent setback.
"It's tough," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "He had started hitting his stride. He got his mechanics in order and was really throwing the ball well. Hopefully, this short stint on the DL won't set him back as far as the work that he's done."
While Callaway implied that Swarzak's stay on the DL will be brief, the reliever declined to put a timetable on it. In Swarzak's absence, Robert Gsellman should continue to see most of the Mets' save chances.
"I think the past has proven that any time we try to put timetables on any kind of injury -- me, other people, anybody -- it's going to come back to bite us in the you-know-where," Swarzak said. "So with this one, I'm not going to give myself a timetable. I have a 10-day DL stint. It's inflammation in my shoulder. So I think in a few days, I'm going to feel significantly better than I did today."