Morning Briefing: Dustin May to Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Good morning, Mets fans!

Dodgers pitcher Dustin May will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a damaged ulnar collateral ligament, ending his season, the team announced on Monday. The surgery will be performed on May 11.

“I feel for him, most important,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “For our ballclub, it’s a big blow. But we have a lot of talented players and we just have to find a way to fill that void.”

The young right-hander was placed on IR after an early exit in Los Angeles’ 6-5 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday due to a “right arm injury.” May was having a stellar season on the mound, posting a 2.74 ERA in five games along with a 1-1 record.

After 6-5 loss to the Cardinals, the Mets (11-12) will look to bounce back on Tuesday night in game two against St. Louis (17-12) at Busch Stadium. New York ace Jacob deGrom (0.51 ERA, 2-2) will get the start on the bump as he faces off against Cards righty Johan Oviedo (2.79 ERA, 0-0).

First pitch is set for 7:45 p.m. and the game will be televised on SNY and broadcasted on WCBS 880 and WQBU 92.7.

Let’s get into Tuesday’s briefing.

Latest Mets News

After New York pitcher Edwin Diaz left Sunday’s game against the Phils due to back pain, the Mets do not seem “overly concerned” per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News and TC Zencka of MLB Trade Rumors. The right-handed slinger has posted a 4.22 ERA with three saves in 11 appearances for the Mets this season.

Syracuse Mets (AAA) manager Chris Kreuter says that pitcher Jordan Yamamoto will get the start on the bump for Tuesday night’s season opener, according to Metsmerized Online‘s Michael Mayer. The righty joined the Mets organization in 2021 after two seasons in the majors with the Marlins.

Mets outfielder Mallex Smith will start the minor league season on the injured list, per Michael Mayer of Metsmerized Online. Smith joined the Mets organization this season after spending the last two seasons in Seattle. He batted for a .211 batting average in 18 games during spring training.

According to Mark Pulishuk of MLB Trade Rumors, the Mets released catcher Caleb Joesph last week after just under three months with the organization. Joesph played in 11 spring training games for New York, garnering one hit in eight at-bats.

Pete Alonso‘s personal online store, lfgmshop.com, now includes merchandise of mythical “hitting approach coach” Donnie Stevenson. The merch includes an illustration of Stevenson sporting a No. 69 black Mets jersey and swole arms of course.

Latest MLB News

White Sox centerfielder Luis Robert will miss 12-16 weeks after completely tearing his right hip flexor, per general manager Rick Hahn. The 23-year-old suffered the tear in the first inning of Chicago’s loss to Cleveland on Sunday.

Philadelphia pitcher José Alvarado and MLB have agreed to a reduced two-game suspension for his role in Friday’s scuffle with the Mets. The suspension was originally set for three games but was decreased after the lefty appealed the decision. Alvarado began serving the suspension on Monday.

Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain returned from the Brewers’ 10-day injured list in a 4-3 loss to the Phillies on Monday night. This was Yelich’s first action since April 11, who has been out with back ailment. Cain homered in his first at-bat back and Yelich singled twice against the Phils.

However, with the addition of the two Brewers, Milwaukee demoted infielder Keston Hiura and Tyron Taylor to its alternate site, per Connor Byrne of MLB Trade Rumors.

The Rockies announced that their Vice President of Scouting Bill Schmidt will be the team’s interim general manager in a press release on Monday. This comes after Colorado parted ways with former GM Jeff Bridich on April 26.

According to 670 The Score in Chicago, patience is “growing thin” for some in the White Sox clubhouse regarding Tony La Russa‘s decisions as manager. In his first season as manager, Chicago has posted a 15-12 record and is second in the AL Central behind Kansas City.

Former Mets righty Jacob Rhame was released by the San Diego Padres on April 28 after being with the organization for four months. Rhame last pitched in A-Advanced ball with St. Lucie and last played in the majors in 2019.

Former Mets minor leaguer Rob Whalen announced that he will be joining the Twins organization on Monday via Twitter. The right-handed pitcher last pitched in 2018 with the Mariners organization, and spent four seasons with the Mets, reaching Advanced-A ball in St. Lucie in 2015.

Infielder Greg Garcia opted out of his contract with the Phillies and was released by the team, making him a free agent, according to Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. Garcia was only a Phil for 11 days after he signed a minor league contract with the organization on April 22.

The Dodgers have acquired righty Phil Bickford from the Brewers via waivers and left-handed pitcher Mike Kickham will be designated for assignment. Bickford appeared in just two games in the last couple seasons for Milwaukee after spending eight seasons in the minors.

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright said COVID hit him and his wife “very hard” and his kids got the virus as well, per Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Wainwright also said he was grateful that took the vaccine when the Cards made it available or else he would’ve make a choice to leave the team if not.

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com writes on where the Top 100 prospects will start the 2021 minor league season. Among the five Mets in the 100, catcher Francisco Alvarez (No. 40) will start in St. Lucie, shortstop Ronny Mauricio (No. 57) will begin the season in Brooklyn and Matt Allan (No. 65) will also start his 2021 with the Cyclones.

Baseball America released its Top 400 prospects for the 2021 MLB Draft. The draft will take place on July 11-13 in Atlanta and the Mets hold the 10th overall pick.

Latest on MMO

Rich Sparago previews the Mets’ four-game series against the Cardinals.

Patrick Glynn takes a look at the highs and lows of the Mets’ series victory over the Phillies.

Anthony E. Parelli recaps the past week in New York baseball with series’ against Boston and Philadelphia.

Beyond the Blog

Mets Maniacs: On the latest episode, hosts Mike Breznak and Ty Wilkes discuss the wild series between the Mets and the Phillies in Philadelphia. They talk about bats turning around, the Jose Alvarado drama, and the Mets (just barely) getting the last laugh. They also touch on high-impact bench players for the Mets this season and whether Francisco Lindor is due to turn it around at the dish.

Locked On Mets: On today’s episode, host Ryan Finkelstein reacts to the Mets decision to fire hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant hitting coach Tom Slater, despite the team’s turnaround offensively over the last couple of games. He also talks about new hitting coaches Hugh Quattlebaum and Kevin Howard and why their hiring shows how the Mets are trying to embrace analytics.

Ryan also breaks down the Mets loss on Monday night and discusses the impact of having veterans like Kevin Pillar and Jonathan Villar off the bench to fill in for injured starters.

On This Date in Mets History

1963: The first chanting of the popular phrase “Let’s go Mets” is heard during a ninth inning rout at the hands of San Francisco at Polo Grounds. This chant came despite New York trailing by 13 runs and down to its last out.

1991: Pinch-hitters Mackey Sasser and Mark Carreon hit back-to-back home runs at Shea Stadium to mark the first time that two pinch-hitters hit two consecutive homers in Mets history. The two home runs knotted the game up at two in the ninth which set up a 4-2 12-inning victory over the Giants.

2007: Mets first baseman and 48-year-old Julio Franco bats against Diamondback pitcher and 43-year-old Randy Johnson to set a MLB record for the oldest hitter-pitcher matchup. Franco went deep off of Johnson to break his own record of the oldest major leaguer to homer and extends his record as the oldest to steal a base.

Birthdays: Robinson Cancel (45), Miguel Cairo (47) and Manny Aybar (49)

Let’s go Mets!