The New York Mets announced that Zack Wheeler has no structural damage in his right elbow and that he has been diagnosed with sensory nerve irritation.
Doctors administered a cortisone shot and Wheeler will remain idle for 48 hours. He will be allowed to pitch once he feels comfortable enough to begin throwing again.
Wheeler, 26, was initially expected to return right after the All-Star break. For now, the team says there is no timetable for return, but they are relieved that his elbow is sound.
Previous Report – June 21
Zack Wheeler had a setback today after experiencing pain in his surgically repaired right elbow.
Wheeler was expected to throw a simulated inning with the Gulf Coast League team this week, and was expected to begin a rehab assignment later this weekend.
He is on his way back to New York to be examined by team doctors.
Sandy Alderson said he was not overly concerned and would wait until after Wheeler sees the doctors to determine the severity of the setback.
Original Report – June 14
Zack Wheeler will begin his minor league rehab assignment this week as he nears his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery, Terry Collins told reporters this afternoon. The Mets will use the entire 30 days they are allowed to stash him in the minors before bringing him up sometime in mid-July, after the All-Star break.
Wheeler had the surgery in late March of 2015 and had a smaller additional procedure at the time to repair a forearm tendon, which added on a few months to his rehab time. He also underwent a very minor surgery in April to remove an undissolved stitch.
Wheeler, the second of the Mets’ five stud pitching prospects (after Matt Harvey) to arrive in Flushing, went 18-16 with a 3.50 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP and 271 strikeouts in his first 285 big-league innings after being called up in the middle of 2013.
He pitched a full year in 2014 but missed the entire 2015 campaign.
When Wheeler returns to the rotation — assuming Bartolo Colon is bumped to the bullpen — the Mets will have a rotation entirely made up of pitchers 28 or under who developed in the Mets’ farm system.
