New York Mets Lose Trade Deadline Acquisition to IL in Blow to Rotation

The New York Mets have lost another member of their starting rotation to injury.

On Sunday, the Mets placed right-handed starter Paul Blackburn on the 15-day injured list with a right hand contusion.

Although Blackburn, whose CT scans came back negative for a fracture, initially thought he would be able to avoid the IL, this did not prove to be the case.

Blackburn was scheduled to play catch on Sunday at Petco Park to see how he felt after taking a line drive off of his hand on Friday night. This forced him out of his latest start in the third inning, which led to X-Rays that were inconclusive.

According to Tim Healey of Newsday, Blackburn shared that his light throwing session was not great as he is still experiencing a good amount of stiffness and soreness in his hand.

Per Healey, Blackburn is aiming to make a rehab start in about 10 days before hopefully returning to the Mets after the 15 day minimum stay on the shelf.

In the meantime, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that righty starter Tylor Megill is a possible candidate to replace Blackburn in the rotation.

Megill has a 5.17 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP and 55 strikeouts in nine starts (10 appearances) across 47 innings in the majors this season.

Losing Blackburn is the latest blow to a Mets rotation that is already without Kodai Senga (high-grade calf strain) and promising rookie Christian Scott (UCL sprain). While Scott should be able to return in September as he progresses in his throwing program, Senga is a long shot to make it back before the regular season concludes.

Blackburn was acquired by the Mets from the Oakland Athletics on July 30 ahead of the trade deadline in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Kade Morris.

The Mets recalled righty reliever Huascar Brazoban, who was optioned to Triple-A on Friday to make room for Dedniel Nunez, to replace Blackburn for the time being.