The New York Mets on Sunday placed right-hander and trade-deadline addition Paul Blackburn on the 15-day injured list with a right hand contusion, the team announced. Blackburn was hit by a comeback line drive Friday. Reliever Huascar Brazoban, another deadline addition who was just sent back to Triple-A Friday, was recalled in a corresponding move.
Here is the line drive that hit Blackburn. His hand/wrist area swelled up immediately and he exited the game.
"I wouldn't say it was great. There's still a lot of stiffness and soreness," Blackburn said after playing catch Sunday (via Newsday). He hopes to make a minor-league rehab start in 10 days and spend only the minimum 15 days on the injured list.
Blackburn, 30, was acquired from the Oakland Athletics. He has a 5.18 ERA in five starts with the Mets but has been good more often than not. Three times in five starts Blackburn went at least 5 2/3 innings with no more than one earned run allowed. In the other two starts, he got hammered for 12 runs in 6 1/3 innings combined.
The Mets figure to summon righty Tylor Megill, who has a 5.17 ERA in nine starts and one relief appearances at the big-league level this year, to fill Blackburn's rotation spot. New York's rotation is stretched thin at the moment with Jose Quintana having a rough August (8.27 ERA) and Luis Severino having already thrown his most innings since 2018.
Entering play Sunday, the Mets are 68-62 and 2 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the third wild-card spot.
