PHILADELPHIA — Taijuan Walker landed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with right shoulder bursitis.
Though Walker will miss multiple starts, fans shouldn’t be too worried about his trip to the IL because it has to do, at least in part, with the Mets wanting to stretch the right-hander out.
Walker exited his first start of the year Monday against the Phillies after just two innings with pain in his right shoulder. It was his second straight shortened outing due to a physical issue, and as such, he has amassed just 3 1/3 innings combined over his last two starts.
He also dealt with knee soreness in spring training, which resurfaced following surgery on his right knee in January. Walker, moments after his Tuesday morning MRI in New York, tweeted: “Everything is all good!”
Mets manager Buck Showalter said, once he’s healthy, the team will send Walker to the minors for a rehab start to get his pitch count up before he returns to the rotation. The skipper didn’t rule out the possibility that Walker will need just one rehab outing, versus at least two. If the righty can stretch out up to four innings in his rehab start, Showalter indicated that will be enough for Walker to come off the injured list.
As for who will replace Walker in the rotation, Showalter stopped short of committing to a starter.
Southpaw David Peterson is the obvious choice, since he piggybacked Walker on Monday and turned in four scoreless innings against a tough Philly lineup. Peterson would also remain on regular rest if he replaced Walker in the rotation. His first opportunity to do so will be on Sunday at Citi Field against the Diamondbacks.
Diaz returns
Edwin Diaz joined the Mets in Philly on Tuesday after spending three days in Puerto Rico on the bereavement list. He learned his grandfather passed away on Friday during the Mets’ game against the Nationals. Diaz said his grandfather had been sick.
“We were really close,” Diaz said. “All his grandsons were really close to him. He was a great grandfather with us. That’s why me, my brother, came back to Puerto Rico to spend time with my grandmother.”
The Mets closer threw off flat ground on Monday so his routine was not all that impacted by his travel to Puerto Rico.
“I’m happy to be back with the team,” he said. “I flew to Puerto Rico to spend that time with my family. But we are back. So ready to roll.”
May is day-to-day
Trevor May underwent an MRI on Tuesday morning that showed a “very very low-grade triceps strain,” the reliever said. He added: “Which makes a lot of sense.”
May was unconcerned about his arm issue on Monday night, moments after he left his relief outing in the eighth inning against the Phillies alongside a trainer, because it’s a soreness he has apparently dealt with previously in his career.
May said he is day-to-day, and no one has approached him about a potential IL stint.
“Last night I wasn’t worried,” May said. “So now we know. Just day-to-day. Got some anti-inflammatories to get in there. Usually that stuff works pretty well. Just going to take a day off from throwing and go from there.”
May is unlikely to be available on Tuesday and Wednesday, so the Mets will be playing down a man in the bullpen in their final two games against the Phillies. They hope Tylor Megill, Tuesday’s starter, and Max Scherzer, Wednesday’s starter, will provide enough length that the bullpen can be used minimally.
Thoughts on Brooklyn
Mets manager Buck Showalter opened his Tuesday afternoon press conference by recognizing the victims in Brooklyn’s subway shooting.
“We’re all aware of what’s going on back in our city,” Showalter said. “Our hearts are with everybody, and prayers. It’s awful. Just awful. It doesn’t need something like that to put it in perspective. Our sympathy goes out to everybody involved. It’s in our thoughts. It’s certainly a topic of conversation in our clubhouse. Needed to be said.”
