Torrens to IL with forearm contusion; setback for Megill

PHILADELPHIA -- One catcher playing hurt, the Mets could deal with. Two catchers playing hurt was one too many.

With that in mind, the Mets placed backup Luis Torrens on the 10-day injured list Monday due to a bruised right forearm. The injury itself isn’t serious; the Mets expect Torrens back on Sept. 17, the first day he’s eligible. But team officials did not want to risk proceeding with Torrens’ availability in question, given that starter Francisco Alvarez is also playing through a sprained right thumb ligament and a broken left pinkie.

For that reason, Torrens consented to an IL stay. The Mets called up Hayden Senger from Triple-A Syracuse to replace him.

“Given where we’re at with Alvy, and who knows what’s going to happen with him, it’s hard to go into a game with just one catcher,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You’ve got to give Luis some credit here, just understanding where we’re at as a team and the meaning of every game and where Alvy is at. For him, it’s better to take a down time for a few days and put the team in a better position.”

The forearm injury is one that affected Torrens earlier in the year. At that time, however, with Alvarez fully healthy, the Mets could afford to stash Torrens on their bench for a few days without placing him on the IL. They did not have the same luxury this time around -- particularly in a playoff race.

As for Alvarez, he started two of the Mets’ three games in Cincinnati last weekend, going 1-for-8 with a single. Alvarez was back in the lineup again for Monday’s series opener against the Phillies.

“He seems to be in a good place,” Mendoza said. “We check with him after every game or the next day after he gets to the ballpark, and we haven’t seen anything. Obviously, we know what he’s dealing with, but so far, it’s been good.”

In 87 games primarily as Alvarez’s backup, Torrens was batting .225/.287/.348 with five home runs.

A setback for Megill
Right-hander Tylor Megill experienced right elbow tightness while throwing breaking balls during a rehab outing Sunday for Syracuse -- the same injury that initially sent him to the 15-day IL in mid-June. The Mets sent Megill back to New York for an MRI, which should reveal the extent of any structural damage.

Even if that test comes back clean, Megill won’t have much time to make it back to the active roster. Less than three weeks remain in the regular season.

“We’re running out of time, especially now with him complaining about the same thing that he went down with earlier in the year,” Mendoza said. “I don’t want to speculate here, but the fact that he’s getting another MRI and where we’re at, it feels like we’re running out of time.”

Megill, who hasn’t pitched in the Majors since June 14, was 5-5 with a 3.95 ERA prior to his injury. The Mets would have faced a difficult decision had he been healthy, given their crowded rotation situation. It’s possible Megill would have wound up in the bullpen.