The New York Mets picked up a 2-0 win against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, but the victory came at a cost. Key left-handed reliever A.J. Minter was forced out of the game early, and less than 24 hours after his exit, he was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained left triceps, dealing the Mets bullpen a significant blow early in the new season.
Minter appeared to be in pain after delivering a 3-1 pitch to James Wood, and manager Carlos Mendoza ended up replacing him with Max Kranick after he and an athletic trainer visited the veteran left-hander on the mound. Replacing Minter in the majors for the time being is Jose Urena, who has yet to pitch for New York after spending the first few weeks of the 2025 campaign in Triple-A with the Syracuse Mets.
A.J. Minter Weighs in on Untimely Injury
After spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Atlanta Braves, Minter made the jump to their National League East rival this offseason, signing a two-year, $22 million contract with the Mets in free agency. Early on, things had been going well for Minter, as he had posted a 1.64 earned run average over 11 innings of work in 13 appearances. Now, he’s set to miss some time with this triceps ailment, ESPN reports.
“About two pitches or a pitch before you can kind of see me kind of move my triceps around a little bit. It tightened up,” Minter said about his injury after his outing on Saturday, according to ESPN. “I threw that last pitch, a cutter, and I felt my triceps. Don’t know how long we’re looking at, getting imaging tomorrow and see where we’re at. But yes, triceps and we’ll see what the damage is tomorrow.”
“I’m just glad it wasn’t my elbow,” Minter added. “… Just hopefully come back, get this thing fixed and continue to help the team.”
Carlos Mendoza, Mets Must Piece Together Bullpen in A.J. Minter’s Absence
GettyMets Manager Carlos Mendoza
Losing Minter hurts for the Mets, as he’s a left-handed hurler who can deliver the goods in late-inning situations. Urena will get the call to the majors, but he’s not exactly a guy who can be trusted in the same situations as Minter. Beyond that, Urena isn’t a lefty, so somebody else is going to have to step up for Mendoza and the Mets and fill Minter’s role at the back of the bullpen during his absence.
Urena appeared in 33 games for the Texas Rangers in 2024, posting a solid 3.80 earned run average over 109 innings of work. He’s a versatile pitcher, as he started eight games for the Rangers, but he also worked out of the bullpen for them, and even earned a save along the way. Urena struck out 70 batters last season, and he’d gotten off to a solid start in the minors, posting a 2.89 ERA over his first three outings, all of which he made as a starter.
The Mets couldn’t keep up the momentum from their victory on Saturday, as they suffered an 8-7 loss to the Nationals on Sunday afternoon. They will look to split their four-game series with Washington when they return to action on Monday, with first pitch for this contest being scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.
Mets Get Bad News on Key Pitcher Who Left Game