ST. LOUIS -- Mets reliever Danny Young has decided to undergo Tommy John surgery after spraining a ligament in his left elbow, according to a person with knowledge of the pitcher’s plans. Manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday that doctors had recommended the procedure.
Given that a rest-and-rehab protocol would have forced Young to miss most of this season anyway, he opted for surgery. Young will miss the rest of this season and a significant chunk of next year, as well. Tommy John typically carries a recovery timetable of 12-18 months.
Young, 30, is under team control for five seasons after this one. The Mets on Sunday transferred him to the 60-day injured list.
Last season was a breakout campaign for Young, who struck out 48 batters over 37 2/3 innings and held left-handed hitters to a .527 OPS. He entered this season as the Mets’ No. 2 lefty behind A.J. Minter, who is suffering from a left lat strain and also considering season-ending surgery. Minter figures to make his decision in the coming days.
In the absence of those two, the Mets have been relying on Génesis Cabrera as their top lefty in the bullpen. Veteran Anthony Gose is a secondary option at Triple-A Syracuse, and New York is comfortable turning to right-handers like José Buttó and Max Kranick against tough lefties.
The team could also pursue a left-hander prior to the July 31 Trade Deadline.
Worth the wait
When the Mets sent right-handed reliever Dedniel Núñez to Triple-A Syracuse at the end of Spring Training, they figured they would recall him within a couple of weeks. Instead, Núñez struggled to regain his footing after missing most of the second half last season due to a right forearm strain. He allowed three runs in his first three appearances and walked six batters over his first six innings.
“Honestly, I wasn’t down there thinking, ‘Oh, man, they haven’t called me up yet,’” Núñez said through an interpreter. “I remained positive the entire time. In fact, what I thought to myself was, ‘If I’m here right now, I might as well get the appropriate work in to get better.’”
Sunday’s doubleheader against the Cardinals finally gave the Mets reason to promote Núñez, five-and-a-half weeks after shipping him out. (New York intended to activate him between games.) The right-hander had been putting up much more promising numbers in recent outings, with just one walk over his past four games. Just as importantly, Núñez pitched twice in three days multiple times, and he recorded four outs in his last outing with Syracuse on May 1.
“That’s why it took a little bit longer than we anticipated, just to prepare him physically, mentally for the workload,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re comfortable using him to get four outs, five outs, depending on if it’s pitch-efficient or not … but also being mindful and protecting him a little bit too.”
Núñez, 28, was one of the Mets’ best relievers last season before his injury, with a 2.31 ERA over 25 games. While Mendoza would like to find a soft spot to acclimate him back to the big leagues, Núñez is likely to see high-leverage work sooner rather than later.
“Physically, I feel like I’m prepared for any situation,” Núñez said.
Defensive shift
Sunday’s doubleheader resulted in some funky positioning for Mets fielders, as Mendoza looked to give some of his regular players partial days of rest. The upshot was that Luisangel Acuña started a regular-season game at third base for the first time in his professional career, while Jesse Winker started in the outfield for the first time this season.
Acuña, a natural shortstop, has mostly played second base this year. He’s a versatile defender, however, who has frequently taken fly balls in center field before games. He also appeared in 10 games at third base during Spring Training.
“We prepared him for this,” Mendoza said. “Spring Training, that was the plan from the beginning. We said, ‘Hey man, you’re going to be playing all around the infield -- not only shortstop, second base, but third base.’ And he did. He ended up playing some games there at third base. We feel very comfortable. That’s why he’s in there.”