Trevor May won’t pitch for the rest of the month that shares his name, and maybe not June or July either.
The Mets reliever has been shut down from throwing for approximately four weeks after imaging revealed a stress reaction in the lower part of his right humerus.
Once May resumes throwing, he will need a gradual buildup before rejoining the team. May indicated he expects it will take him 8-12 weeks to return.
“I am glad we have got it figured out and I am glad we have a rehab path set out in front of me,” May said after the Mets’ 9-2 loss to the Braves on Wednesday.
May encountered triceps discomfort last month, but returned to action after resting for four days. His goal this time is to ensure any restart is for the rest of the season.
“I just did the thing where I wasn’t fully ready to go and I was trying to go and I’m not going to do that again to the guys in here, I am not going to do that to the fans or this organization,” May said. “It’s not what I was brought here to do and I have got to be able to give 100 percent if I am going to be out there.”
In eight appearances this season, the right-hander has pitched to an 8.64 ERA and allowed 13 hits in 8 ¹/₃ innings. The Mets placed May on the injured list and recalled Adonis Medina from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the week.
Drew Smith’s emergence in the Mets bullpen leaves him as an obvious candidate to step into the higher leverage roles that had been entrusted to May. In 10 appearances this season, Smith has not allowed an earned run.
“You can tell [Smith] is walking a little taller right now,” Seth Lugo said.
May arrived before last season on a two-year contract worth $15 million. In 68 appearances he pitched to a 3.59 ERA with four saves.
The Mets resisted contesting an error ruling on Francisco Lindor from last Wednesday’s game in St. Louis because the shortstop didn’t want to risk adding an earned run to Carlos Carrasco’s line, according to manager Buck Showalter. But the Cardinals contested the call in an attempt to get Paul Goldschmidt a hit, and won the appeal.
Brandon Nimmo went 1-for-3 with two walks Wednesday, extending his on-base streak to 17 games.