A pair of Mets relievers will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis as general manager Billy Eppler provided updates on Bryce Montes de Oca and Brooks Raley on Tuesday.
Dealing with a right elbow injury, Montes de Oca’s imaging confirmed a stress reaction that will force him to begin the year on the injured list where he’ll be shut down from throwing for three to four weeks.
However, the ligament “looks good,” per Eppler, which is a relief to the Mets.
“Based on what we were faced with, this was better news than it could have been with him,” Eppler said.
The hard-throwing right-hander made his Mets debut last season, striking out six across 3.1 innings of work. He is expected to make a stronger push for more innings this season thanks to a fastball that regularly touches triple digits.
“You never want to be hurt but there’s a long year ahead,” Montes de Oca said. “I’m sure I’ll be out there and contributing this year.”
Raley, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays during the winter, is the first Mets casualty of the World Baseball Classic. The southpaw suffered a low-grade hamstring strain in his left leg and will be out on a “week-to-week” basis, per Eppler.
“We got a chance to put our hands on Raley today,” Eppler said. “He’s going to continue throwing so everything is positive there. We’ll keep his arm activated.”
The 34-year-old is currently projected to be the only left-handed reliever in the Mets’ bullpen heading toward the 2023 regular season, which could prompt the search for insurance before Opening Day.
However, Raley seemed confident that he would be ready for Opening Day, going as far as to say that there was a “strong possibility” that it would happen.
“I really hope to be there,” Raley said. “We have to take it one day at a time and not push this too hard that there’s a setback.”
