Mets place Kevin Pillar on injured list, call up Wilfredo Tovar

The Mets have placed outfielder Kevin Pillar on the injured list with multiple fractures in his nose as the result of being hit in the face by a pitch last night, and the team has called up Wilfredo Tovar to take his place on the active roster. Since Tovar wasn’t on the 40-man roster, the team also designated catcher Deivy Grullón for assignment to make room for him.

While the details of Pillar’s injury sound rather uncomfortable, he was in good spirits in the Mets’ clubhouse today, according to Marcus Stroman. The 32-year-old has hit .250/.294/.388 with a 93 wRC+ so far for the Mets this year in 85 plate appearances. With Brandon Nimmo and Albert Almora both already having hit the injured list, Pillar is the third Mets center fielder of the season to land on the IL.

Tovar, who spent nearly a decade in the Mets’ minor league system, most recently played in the big leagues in 2019. He made 88 plate appearances for the Angels that year and hit .193/.239/.253 with a 29 wRC+.

Grullón was picked up by the Mets on waivers from the Blue Jays in late April. After spending most of his professional career to date in the Phillies’ system, he got a handful of plate appearances for the Phillies in 2019 and the Red Sox in 2020.