Mets send Huascar Brazoban down to minors with hopes of getting him stretched out
SAN DIEGO — The Mets sent down a reliever who was tied for the team lead in games pitched.
Needing an arm that wasn’t weary and eyeing a fresher, more stretched-out version of Huascar Brazobán later in the season, the Mets optioned the righty, who had pitched in more games than every reliever on the team except Reed Garrett.
Brazobán has been a mainstay for the club all season, although his usage had evolved during the grind of a long season.
When the Mets bullpen was at its best in April, Brazobán was a multi-inning weapon who recorded as many as seven outs in an appearance and had thrown 34 pitches in his season debut.
In each of the 35-year-old’s past 12 games, he did not record more than three outs.
When Brazobán returns later this summer, the Mets hope they will be bringing up the strong, lengthy reliever they saw in April.
“He’s done a lot for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before Tuesday’s 7-1 loss to the Padres at Petco Park. “We want to use this time to continue to build him up for a potential role here — because we told him, ‘You’re going to be back here.’”
Brazobán will have a more scripted throwing program with Triple-A Syracuse, stretching out to “hopefully up to 40 pitches,” Mendoza said.
The Mets needed a fresh arm, and Brazobán’s was not: He contributed to Monday’s fifth-inning implosion and had owned a 10.66 ERA in his past 14 games.
Typically when the club has needed a reliever who could be available immediately over the past month, it has designated a pitcher for assignment. This time, as the Mets made room for the recently DFA’d and now re-signed Chris Devenski,
Brazobán was sent down and Rico Garcia was retained.
Garcia, who has been on and off the roster, has delivered — he entered play without allowing a run in 9 ²/₃ innings with the Mets. He is trying to carve out a more permanent role in the bullpen.
“He continues to show us that he can help us,” Mendoza said of the righty.
Jesse Winker (back inflammation) is not close to a return.
Placed on the injured list on July 11, Winker is “not doing much,” Mendoza said, and is at least a few days away from resuming baseball activities.
The Mets are still confident Winker will return at some point this season.
“That’s what the trainers are telling us,” Mendoza said. “We just got to wait.”
For the first time all season, Jeff McNeil, who went 1-for-4, started a third straight game in center field.
The Mets had shown more caution earlier this season with a natural infielder whose legs they want to keep fresh.
“Taking advantage of the beautiful weather here. San Francisco wasn’t too hot,” Mendoza said. “I’ll check with him. He’s doing a good job of just kind of monitoring that workload.”
Tylor Megill (right elbow sprain) is set to throw a bullpen session that approximates multiple “innings” on Wednesday, Mendoza said.
If all goes well, the righty then would begin facing hitters.