QUEENS, NY — The New York Mets placed reliever Drew Smith on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow sprain, the team announced just before first pitch on Wednesday night against the Yankees at Citi Field.
Smith left the stadium earlier in the afternoon to undergo an MRI after experiencing tightness in his right forearm while playing catch, to which manager Carlos Mendoza initially said “I’m not too concerned but we have to see what we got here.”
In a corresponding move, the Mets recalled right-handed reliever Ty Adcock from Triple-A Syracuse.
Concerns about Smith’s health arose during Sunday night’s series finale in Chicago against the Cubs after he was hurriedly brought in to relieve Edwin Diaz, who had been ejected for violating the league’s foreign substance policy, in the bottom of the ninth inning.
He faced three batters and recorded two outs, but he signaled to the Mets’ dugout during the outing that something was not right.
Mendoza initially said on Tuesday that Smith was in a “good place,” but would have a better idea when he threw again. The tightness cropped up when he had a catch on Tuesday later that evening and when it remained on Wednesday afternoon, that’s when the Mets made the call.
“He didn’t pinpoint anything specific on Sunday,” Mendoza said. “He was just talking about having trouble getting warm. Then yesterday and today again, he felt some tightness there.”
Now the Mets are without two of their more reliable arms in the bullpen with Smith sidelined and Diaz serving a 10-game suspension until July 6.
In 19 appearances this season (17.2 innings), Smith is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA with 23 strikeouts and nine walks.
