As if the injuries to David Wright, Zack Wheeler, Travis d'Arnaud, Jerry Blevins and others weren't enough. Bobby Parnell, who closed for the New York Mets in 2013, could be facing some trouble following the Tommy John surgery he underwent a little over a year ago.
The team shut down Parnell for a week after the right-hander experienced forearm tightness during his most recent rehab assignment with High Class-A Port St. Lucie. General manger Sandy Alderson announced the move to keep Parnell out of action in addition to the reliever being examined by team doctor David Altchek.
Luckily for New York, nothing serious was found following the examination on Friday, so it's possible Parnell resumes throwing in the next few days, but the fact he's having such arm trouble barely a year after undergoing the reconstructive procedure is something to be concerned about. It's also not promising Parnell had a shaky outing on Tuesday at Port St. Lucie, surrendering one run on two hits and two walks in 2/3 of an inning.
New York already has bullpen issues because Jenrry Mejia, who was expected to be the closer while Parnell rehabbed, was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Additionally, lefty reliever Jerry Blevins fractured his forearm and will miss a significant chunk of time. So what's next for the Mets if Parnell happens to suffer a serious setback?
Well, the club has 25-year-old Jeurys Familia. The right-hander is eight-for-eight in save opportunities since Mejia was suspended and owns a 1.86 ERA, 0.724 WHIP and 12 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings of work. He looks to be a mainstay at the back end of the Mets' bullpen, but they might need some more depth if these injury woes continue.
The team has a few options. Rafael Soriano is still on the market, and being that he's lasted this long without signing a contract, it's likely New York can get him for a decent price. But if that's not something they're interested, prospects Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz could make their major league debuts working out of the bullpen as the club waits for Parnell and Blevins to get healthy (and if they're still expecting to welcome back Mejia). Also, prospect Rafael Montero got some time in relief this season, but he was demoted to make room for some other roster needs. He's expected to be back by the end of the month, but he could come back as a starter if Dillon Gee continues to struggle.
Right now, those are the Mets' obvious options. Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon is also on the market in case things get really worrisome in Flushing. We'll see what happens this week with Parnell before jumping to such drastic conclusions though.
