New York Mets reliever Dedniel Nunez is not close to seeing any sort of game action as he continues to ramp up since recovering from an elbow injury, manager Carlos Mendoza said on Wednesday.
“We’re building him up,” he said prior to the Mets’ spring training matchup against the Miami Marlins. “I don’t think we’re going to see him in games any time soon. We’re going to make sure we take care of him. He’s a guy that dealt with a lot.”
Mendoza maintains the hope that Nunez will be ready for Opening Day.
The right-hander suffered a strained flexor tendon in late July last season, made one brief appearance in late August, and was shut down for the remainder of the campaign on Sept. 13. He had quickly developed into a key piece of the Mets’ bullpen upon making his MLB debut last season. In 27 innings between May 28 and July 23, he posted a 2.00 ERA with 35 strikeouts, finishing the season with a 2.31 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 35 innings.
He was able to avoid surgery, which had been on the table through the early portions of the offseason. Instead, promising progressions prompted a PRP injection. He then spent time during the winter throwing bullpens and live batting practice sessions in the Dominican Republic.
A healthy Nunez is projected to get significant leverage innings within a reworked bullpen that should be more reliable than last year’s resilient unit that often overperformed to help the Mets reach the NLCS. A healthy Edwin Diaz will be set up by the newly-acquired AJ Minter, while the seventh-inning role is up for grabs between the likes of Jose Butto, Ryne Stanek, who re-signed over the winter, and Reed Garrett.
