Our friend Sean Ratliff has announced that he has retired. Sean was attempting to come back from major surgery last year after a foul ball struck him near his eye while standing in the on-deck circle. The injury resulted in six broken bones surrounding his eye. MMO’s Pete Shapiro spoke to Sean in February and he explained the difficult ordeal he had to endure and the long road back:

I underwent my last eye surgery in late August. After the initial impact, I received nearly 30 stitches under my right eye to close a laceration, and x-rays showed multiple fractures to my orbital wall, floor, both sinuses, as well as a partially dislocated jaw due mainly to the massive swelling.Fortunately, the surgeons told me that these breaks did not need surgery, and would heal fully on their own. My eye, however, was not so fortunate.

I received an emergency laser repair for a giant retinal tear two days after my injury, which unfortunately did not hold. The Mets staff connected me with one of the premier retina hospitals in the nation, the Bascom-Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, where Dr. Harry Flynn performed my first major eye surgery. The recovery was 4-6 months with a follow up surgery at the completion of the recovery (from the first surgery), my final procedure in August. Now my recovery mainly consists of working with optometrists to find a custom contact lens that will bring my vision back to where it needs to be.

Just last week we announced that Sean had resumed playing with St. Lucie and was on the comeback trail, so this is especially a sad turn of events and not easy to report. 🙁 Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and hopefully we haven’t heard the last of him yet.

Savannah right-hander Logan Verrett, has been placed on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder. The Gnats are calling the move “precautionary,” and it’s not considered to be serious.

We interviewed Logan right before Spring Training and he had some great expectations for this season:

“My expectations for this upcoming season are to lead whatever club I am with to a championship. I am truly blessed to have this opportunity and I am going to bring a winning attitude to the park every day with me no matter what club I am with.”

In three starts for the Gnats this season, Verrett had a 2.77 ERA. Logan is expected to be back soon and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Some news on Jenrry Mejia from Adam Rubin of ESPN New York today. Pitching coach Dan Warthen told him that Mejia was pulled in the second inning of an extended Spring Training outing because it was believed he was “overthrowing “and “coming out of his delivery”. This is not being called a setback.

Mejia is currently rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery he had to repair his right elbow in May. The Mets have been trying to stretch out his arm in extended spring training before deciding where he would be assigned when he is ready to pitch regularly.

Quick Hits

  • Reese Havens is progressing nicely at extended spring training and there’s a good possibility he will be assigned to either Double-A Binghamton or Triple-A Buffalo in short order. This is great news for the organization and hopefully Havens can stay on the field and deliver on the promise he has shown since the Mets drafted him in the first round of the 2008 Draft.
  • I’m officially on the Chase Huchingson bandwagon.
  • After a three day absence, outfielder Cory Vaughn is back with the team and picked up a couple of hits, scored two runs and stole a base yesterday. Apparently he was tending to a family matter and everything is okay now.
  • MMO will hit the road again this week as Pete heads to Lehigh Valley with the Buffalo Bisons as they begin a three game series with the Iron Pigs on Monday. Pete will be there for games two and three and have plenty of great stuff to report.

If you enjoy our minor league coverage, please let us know and we’ll keep it coming…