Trevor May and Luis Guillorme come off IL at crucial time for Mets
New York Mets relief pitcher Trevor May delivers against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets welcomed back some much-missed faces Monday, activating reliever Trevor May from the COVID injured list along with utility infielder Luis Guillorme, who had been out since Aug. 14 with a left groin strain.
To make room on the roster, they designated infielder Deven Marrero for assignment and placed righthander Bryce Montes de Oca on the 15-day IL with left hamstring tightness.
May, who started the season slowly, missed three months (May-July) with a stress reaction in his right humerus. He finally started clicking, just in time to come down with COVID in early September.
May entered Monday with a 6.11 ERA but had allowed only one run in his previous five appearances before getting shelved on Sept. 3.
He continued that stretch when he entered in the sixth inning of the Mets’ 5-2 loss to the Cubs on Monday night. He faced the heart of the order, allowed no hits and struck out two.
“I just tried to roll with the punches the best I could, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely angry and frustrated there for the first couple of days. I felt like I was starting to get a little continuity on the mound, getting some big outs,” May said. “I was proud of my work, and to have to take another step back and reset again was not ideal.”
May, who had symptoms for only a few days, nonetheless was stuck waiting for clearance from MLB before his return. He tried to keep up some sort of regimen, turning the couch in his apartment on its side and letting it rip.
“They sent me a dozen baseballs and that works really, really well,” he said. “So — highly recommend that if you ever have to do that. You don’t even need a net, just ‘MacGyver’ it. I was able to throw as hard as I could. I would have had to throw 160 to get through that couch.”
The versatile Guillorme, who can play second, third and shortstop, was activated but was not in the lineup. It also will give the Mets the option to move Jeff McNeil to the outfield in light of Starling Marte’s broken finger.
Pete for pups
Pete Alonso and The Alonso Foundation matched a Mets donation and gave $10,000 to the North Shore Animal League America. North Shore was on hand at Citi Field on Monday with a pen full of puppies up for adoption when the organization was given the check.
Extra bases
Francisco Lindor’s ninth-inning homer gave him 92 RBIs, tying the career high he set with Cleveland in 2018. He also extended his hitting streak to five games . . . Mychal Givens pitched two innings of scoreless relief and matched a career high with five strikeouts. He has a 1.38 ERA in his last 10 appearances. He also pinch ran for Daniel Vogelbach in the eighth inning.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
