NEW YORK – The Mets’ rebuilt bullpen suffered a significant blow on Saturday when the team announced that Seth Lugo will undergo surgery to remove a loose body from his right elbow. The Mets intend to prevent Lugo from launching for six weeks, which will leave him out of consideration for the Opening Day list.
In a telephone interview, Lugo said he did not feel anything abnormal in his arm until last week, when his elbow began to swell and did not subside. After a few days, Lugo called someone on the Mets training team, who scheduled an MRI. The test, done on Friday, revealed a bone spur that broke his right elbow.
Lugo will be operated on Tuesday, but the right-hand man – who has been shooting with a UCL partially torn at the elbow for at least four seasons – considered his fate much better than the worst case scenario.
“I have been optimistic since [Friday]”Said Lugo. “Last week, I was sitting thinking, ‘If I tore [a ligament], my career may be over, so this is devastating. ‘But I feel really good now that it’s just [the bone spur]. … The worst scenario was, I don’t shoot again, ever, so I’m really happy. “
However, it is a difficult blow for the Mets, considering that Lugo has been their best appeaser for most of the past three seasons, posting an ERA of 2.68 with 207 eliminations in 181 1/3 innings from 2018-19. Last summer, the Mets tried to stretch Lugo as a starting pitcher on the spot, with mixed results; he allowed two runs in his first 11 2/3 entries, before finishing the season with 9.82 ERA in four matches.
After the season, Lugo started playing earlier than usual in October because of how strong he felt after the reduced schedule of 60 games. Only in February did he feel any discomfort, which came entirely from the bone spur – not from his UCL.
“I was very happy with [the diagnosis], ”Said Lugo, who chose to rehabilitate his UCL instead of undergoing Tommy John’s surgery in 2017.“ It was good news for me, without wasting a little time. … This is the first thing that has come up since then – I don’t mean UCL. I don’t want to bring it up. With magnetic resonance [on Friday], it looked great. The doctor was really impressed with how it ended. “
Bone spurs are a more immediate concern. A six-week stoppage will take Lugo to the last week of March, just a few days before Opening Day. Although Lugo declined to comment on his schedule, he remained optimistic about his overall prognosis. If he can start playing on schedule, Lugo will likely need another month or more to prepare for the game, making May a realistic scenario for his return.
“I’m just going to have the surgery and go from there,” said Lugo.
In the meantime, the Mets will have to find someone to fill Lugo’s unique role in the back of his bullpen. He had become a real “firefighter” for the Mets in recent seasons, often launching at the points of greatest leverage from the middle to the ninth inning. Thus, Lugo was a candidate to continue to take advantage of Edwin Díaz’s defense opportunities, while remaining active in the interim period to the end.
The Mets hired two pitchers, Trevor May and Aaron Loup, in major league business this winter, as well as a swingman, Sam McWilliams, who could possibly fill part of Lugo’s role. Díaz, May and Loup are blockades to the Opening Day bullpen, as are Jeurys Familia and Dellin Betances – as long as the Mets do not negotiate either in wage agreements. Miguel Castro and Drew Smith also play prominent roles, but Lugo’s injury increases the chances that the Mets will continue to seek help from outside the organization. The team has been linked to free agents Trevor Rosenthal and Justin Wilson, among others, in recent days.
During the off-season, Mets leaders debated whether Lugo would fit better in his rotation or bullpen – a debate that essentially ended when they added several pieces to their initial mix. Now, the Mets are simply hopeful that Lugo can be a significant contributor in the final two-thirds of 2021.
“It’s a professional group out there,” said Lugo. “With the guys coming back from last year, I have no doubt that they will be able to hold the games. I am still looking forward to meeting the new players we have hired and, hopefully, when I return, we will be in a good position in the standings. Better now than in August, right? “