Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Bassitt was placed on the injured list Friday, the Mets announced. They added that right-hander R.J. Alvarez has been selected from Triple-A Syracuse, while Locke St. John was sent outright to Triple-A.
Bassitt was placed on the IL for a non-injury issue, Anthony DiComo of MLB reported. This means it’s very likely related to COVID-19. DiComo added that Peterson will pitch Friday in Bassitt’s place.
In better news for the Mets, Max Scherzer will come off the IL to start Tuesday in Cincinnati, per DiComo. This comes after Scherzer made two rehab starts for Double-A Binghamton.
Bassitt has a 4.01 ERA this year in 15 starts. He had the best outing of his season on June 14, pitching eight scoreless innings after a rough stretch.
Bassitt joins Jacob deGrom, Scherzer, Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi as Mets starters who haven taken a hit this season. Carlos Carrasco was also pulled from his start on June 22, but he made another appearance June 28. With Scherzer coming back Tuesday, deGrom has also been making progress on a relatively soon return.
Alvarez, 31, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2015 with the Athletics. In 28 major league innings, he has a 7.39 ERA and -0.6 bWAR. He has a 2.49 ERA in 25 1/3 innings for Syracuse this year.
St. John didn’t end up making an appearance for New York in his brief stint with the big club. He’s pitched two major league innings this year with the Cubs, along with 6 2/3 innings for the Rangers back in 2019.
