Injuries & Moves: Scott to return Wednesday
LATEST NEWS
July 1: RHP Christian Scott to return on Wednesday
Scott, the Mets' third-ranked prospect, will return on Wednesday against the Nationals after spending almost exactly one month in the Minors. The Mets initially demoted Scott because of a spate of off-days in June that made a six-man rotation untenable. Now that those off-days have dried up, the Mets are rejiggering their rotation. As a result, Scott will make his first big league start since May 30.
Over five May outings with the Mets, Scott produced a 3.90 ERA. The team deliberately limited his workload after optioning him to the Minors, where he produced a 2.12 ERA in four starts.
10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Drew Smith (right elbow sprain)
Expected return: 2025
Smith is likely headed for the second Tommy John surgery of his career after doctors found significant ligament damage in his right elbow. He is due to receive a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister in Texas, but that test isn't likely to occur until after the Fourth of July holiday. In the interim, Smith will travel with the Mets as an inactive player on their upcoming road trip through Washington and Pittsburgh. A free agent after the season, Smith may have thrown his final pitch for the Mets. (Last updated: June 30)
OF Starling Marte (bone bruise in right knee)
Expected return: Late July or August
Marte, who exited the Mets' June 22 game against the Cubs due to right knee soreness, will miss at least four weeks due to what manager Carlos Mendoza described as a "deep bone bruise." He is due for a checkup on or around July 8, at which point the Mets could clear him to restart baseball activities. How long that process takes will determine Marte's ultimate return date. (Last updated: June 25)
RHP Sean Reid-Foley (right shoulder impingement)
Expected return: July
Reid-Foley, who missed the start of this season due to a right shoulder impingement, returned to the IL on June 22 with a similar injury. The move, which was retroactive to June 20, came three days after Reid-Foley's average fastball velocity dipped about 3 mph in an outing against the Rangers. Reid-Foley received a cortisone injection on June 24 and was scheduled to restart throwing two or three days after that. Mets officials believe Reid-Foley's ramp-up will be quick once he restarts a throwing program. (Last updated: June 25)
OF Drew Gilbert (right hamstring strain; No. 2 on Mets' Top 30 Prospects list)
Expected return: July
Gilbert, the top prospect the Mets acquired from the Astros in the Justin Verlander trade last summer, hasn’t played since straining his right hamstring in the second game of an April 6 doubleheader for Triple-A Syracuse. He is on the seven-day Minor League IL but has been deliberate in his rehab process and is unlikely to return until July. (Last updated: June 23)
INF/OF Jett Williams (right wrist soreness; No. 1 on Mets' Top 30 Prospects list)
Expected return: August
Toward the end of April, Williams began dealing with a bout of right wrist soreness, which has kept him off the field beginning April 21. To treat it, Williams received a cortisone injection in early May, but his soreness persisted enough for doctors to administer a second shot later in the month, which also didn't bring Williams back to full health. As a result, he underwent surgery on June 6. Williams is expected to miss 8-10 weeks. (Last updated: June 7)
60-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Kodai Senga (right posterior shoulder capsule strain)
Expected return: Late July or early August
Senga is scheduled to begin a Minor League rehab assignment July 3 at High-A Brooklyn. The plan is for him to throw up to 40 pitches, which should afford him either two or three innings. From there, Senga will start every six days in the Minors until he's ready to make his season debut. The process should take the better part of a month, if not the entirety of Senga's 30-day rehab clock.
Diagnosed with a capsule strain in February, Senga advanced to mound work in late April but subsequently began experiencing triceps tightness and nerve inflammation in that area. He has slowly been building back up since. (Last updated: July 1)
LHP Brooks Raley (left UCL strain)
Expected return: 2025
Raley, a heavily used reliever who was having trouble recovering between outings in mid-April, had Tommy John surgery on May 29. The procedure, which Dr. Keith Meister performed in Arlington, ended his season and possibly his Mets tenure.
Because of a clause in Raley's contract, he is eligible to become a free agent in November despite having fewer than six years of service time. As such, he may have already thrown his final pitch with the Mets. (Last updated: June 30)
RHP Shintaro Fujinami (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: Mid-July
Fujinami began a Minor League rehab assignment on June 25, setting him up to return at some point in July. But to return to the Majors, Fujinami must prove not only that he's healthy, but that he can be an effective reliever. In seven outings prior to landing on the injured list, Fujinami allowed 12 runs with 13 walks over six innings. He still has an accessible Minor League option. (Last updated: June 30)
INF Ronny Mauricio (recovery from right knee surgery)
Expected return: Possibly September
Mauricio underwent surgery in early January to repair a torn ACL in his right knee, which he injured during winter ball in the Dominican Republic. A typical return timetable for that operation is eight to 12 months, giving Mauricio an outside chance to rejoin the Mets in September. If not, he'll return in 2025.
As of a late-May update, Mauricio had begun running and hitting. According to vice president of player development Andy Green, "everything is progressing as it should." But the Mets won't have a great read on his ability to play this year until much later in the summer. (Last updated: May 31)