New York Mets starting pitcher Paul Blackburn underwent a cerebrospinal (CSF) fluid leak repair on Oct. 11 and is not expected to return to the field for at least four to five months, which puts the start of his spring training ahead of the 2025 season in question.
Blackburn underwent the procedure with Dr. Wouter Schievink at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, the Mets announced.
The 30-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Oakland Athletics ahead of the MLB trade deadline in late July in hopes of bolstering New York’s starting rotation just days after it lost Kodai Senga to a regular-season-ending calf injury.
Blackburn made only five starts, though, going 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA before being sidelined in mid-September because of a spinal fluid leak in his back. The team shut him down, and he was ultimately lost for the remainder of the season, which ended on Sunday night in Game 6 of the NLCS.
He is under contract for the 2025 season before hitting free agency, where he is expected to be a leading candidate for a bottom spot in New York’s rotation. This could be another winter of change for the starting unit, as Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana are free agents. Meanwhile, Christian Scott will be out the entirety of the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery over the summer.
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