John Maine’s career with the Mets could be finished.
A day after the right-hander threw 83 pitches in a minor-league rehab assignment for Triple-A Buffalo, manager Jerry Manuel today admitted there is no room for Maine in the Mets’ rotation and the organization does not view him as a reliever.
The club has also ruled out the possibility of using Maine as part of a 6-man rotation in a stretch of 16 games without a day off leading into the All-Star break.
Maine is expected to make another minor-league rehab start on Wednesday or Thursday and then could be designated for assignment, allowing another team to claim Maine.
The Mets owe Maine about $1.8 million for the remainder of this season. He has become expendable with the emergence of Hisanori Takahashi, who pitched six shutout innings against the Yankees on Friday. Takahashi is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA.