Mets recall Jose Lobaton, DFA Scott Copeland

The New York Mets have recalled catcher Jose Lobaton from Triple-A. To make room on the for him on the 40-man, the team designated reliever Scott Copeland for assignment. Lobaton is in New York and available for tonight’s game.

Following the injuries to Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki, Lobaton split starting catching duties with Tomas Nido and did not perform well. In 46 at-bats with the Mets, he collected only 7 hits and reached base at a 25 percent clip. Among the 60 catchers who’ve had at least 50 plate appearances in 2018, Lobaton ranks 48th in wRC+ (41) and 56th in fWAR (-0.3). He was designated for assignment on May 19 and outrighted to the minors on May 21. In ten games with Las Vegas, he has 13 hits in 35 at-bats and has hit .371/.436/.600.

Scott Copeland made his debut for the Mets in last night’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. He pitched one-and-one-third innings of scoreless ball while striking out two Cubs batters. The appearance marked his first major league outing since 2015, when he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.

After last night’s game, Devin Mesoraco underwent concussion protocol after a Javier Baez backswing caught him on his mask. However, Mesoraco appears to be fine and is batting fourth tonight for the Mets. With Lobaton returning, the Mets are free to use either him or Plawecki off the bench without the risk of losing their lone backup catcher.