The Mets are likely to recall Logan Verrett from Triple-A Las Vegas today to take the roster spot of Rafael Monetero, according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin. Montero, who threw 100 pitches last night in the Mets’ 2-1 victory over the Marlins, would be eligible to return to the team shortly, as the Las Vegas 51s season ends on Monday, September 5.
Verrett is in the midst of an up-and-down season, looking quite good early on, but struggling as of late, which led to his demotion on August 13. Thus far, he has made 12 and 18 relief appearances for the Mets this year and has put up a 5.36 ERA and 5.59 FIP.
Montero did not allow a run while walking six and striking out three over five innings of work, but due to his high pitch count, he wouldn’t be available for the next few days, so his roster spot would presumably be deemed expendable. This is especially true as he pitched in Jacob deGrom’s spot in the rotation last night, and deGrom is set to start on Saturday against Washington. With Seth Lugo starting tonight for the Mets, it seems wise to have another arm ready in case the start doesn’t go as well as Lugo’s past two starts.
One interesting note is that some speculated that Verrett would not be back with the team this year after his agents were attempting to have his most recent demotion rescinded. Reportedly, they felt his stiff neck—which was, presumably, the cause for his terrible start on August 12—was cause for a stint on the disabled list. The Mets claimed that tests showed no structural damage, and therefore it wasn’t worth a spot on the DL.