Mets designate Carlos Gomez for assignment
New York Mets center fielder Carlos Gomez reacts after he strikes out against the Detroit Tigers in an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Friday, May 24, 2019. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Carlos Gomez’s second go-round with his first team came to a close Sunday afternoon as the Mets activated Noah Syndergaard from the 10-day injured list and designated the 33-year-old outfielder for assignment.
Gomez, who signed a minor-league contract with the Mets in March, could clear waivers and stay with the organization.
“We thought, just at this point, five bench players was probably not a necessity,” Mickey Callaway said. “We always want to make sure we’re not overstressing our pitchers as well. We do have a lot of days off, et cetera, but we felt at this point that would be the best move for the team.”
The Mets could have sent down reliever Chris Mazza, 29, but he impressed in his major-league debut Saturday.
Gomez had a .198/.278/.337 slash line, three homers and 10 RBIs in 34 games with the Mets. Juan Lagares played centerfield Sunday night, though Michael Conforto has inherited the bulk of the duties there.
Starter relief
With two days off in the week leading up to the All-Star break, Callaway said he likely will use a starter in a relief capacity, an effort to throw whatever the Mets can at a problem that has nearly sunk their season. Their relievers have allowed at least a run in 19 of their last 21 games.
Flexen flexes
Chris Flexen’s recent success means the Mets are open to pitching him in higher-leverage situations, Callaway said. He had allowed one earned run in seven innings entering Sunday. However, after relieving Noah Syndergaard and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, he gave up three straight hits in the seventh, including a tiebreaking two-run double by Freddie Freeman.
Extra bases
Zack Wheeler will pitch against the Yankees on Tuesday and Jason Vargas will face them Wednesday . . . Jeurys Familia pitched one inning of scoreless relief with Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, allowing one hit and striking out two. He threw 14 pitches, 12 for strikes, showing he may have figured out some of the control issues that have plagued him this season . . . Justin Wilson pitched one inning of relief with short-season Class A Brooklyn, allowing a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. He threw 19 pitches (14 strikes) . . . Luis Avilan pitched a perfect 1 1⁄3 innings for Syracuse, striking out three.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
