Scott Atchison leaves Mets game with groin injury

Scott Atchison, who was activated from the disabled list this morning after spending a few weeks there, exited the Mets' game in Atlanta this evening after suffering an injury while warming up to pitch the seventh inning.

Atchison's stint on the disabled list was the result of arm problems, including numbness in his fingers of his throwing hand, but he hurt his groin warming up after Zack Wheeler's six-inning start. Before he hit the disabled list, Atchison threw 18.0 innings for the Mets with a 4.50 ERA and 4.11 FIP. His strikeout and walk rates were both 3.00 per nine innings in that span, both considerably worse than the numbers he put up with the Red Sox over the past three seasons.

Sandy Alderson said this afternoon that the Mets would option Zack Wheeler back to the minors after his start, a technicality that would allow the team to carry an extra player until Wheeler's next start because of a loophole in Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement. It's hard to imagine that won't still be the case if Atchison goes back to the disabled list.