Mets designate Tommy Hunter for assignment, option Zach Muckenhirn, call up John Curtiss and Josh Walker

Following their second-straight abysmal loss last night, the Mets have designated right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter for assignment, optioned left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn, and called up right-handed reliever John Curtiss and left-handed reliever Josh Walker from Triple-A Syracuse.

A fan favorite from his early days with the Mets, Hunter has a 6.85 ERA and a 5.77 FIP in 23.2 innings with the Mets this year. Those numbers are both massively higher than the 1.78 ERA and 3.98 FIP that he posted in limited innings between the 2021 and 2022 season with the team.

Muckenhirn has only thrown six big league innings thus far in his career, all of which have come with the Mets this season. He has a 6.00 ERA and 3.78 FIP in that limited time.

Curtiss has split his 2023 season between the major league roster and Syracuse. In 13.0 major league innings, he has a 4.85 ERA and a 5.36 FIP.

Walker made his major league debut earlier this year out of the Mets’ bullpen, and the 28-year-old didn’t allow any runs to score in that appearance. In 18.2 innings out of the Syracuse pen, the starter-turned-reliever has a 1.45 ERA.