NEW YORK — Austin Warren has been one of the most pleasant surprises within the Mets pitching staff this season.
Before Tuesday night, the 30-year-old right-handed journeyman, who is in his sixth major league season with three different teams, had occupied a slew of important roles in the bullpen, from multi-inning to high-leverage. He had a 3.34 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Warren admitted that he had not been feeling his best and reported forearm tightness after failing to record an out and giving up five earned runs on four hits, one walk and one hitter in Tuesday’s 16-12 loss to the Royals.
The right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, but imaging revealed no structural damage to his elbow ligament.
“I haven’t felt great the last couple. Obviously, that’s part of the game these days,” Warren said. ‘I’ve had outings earlier in the year that I haven’t felt great that went better than (Tuesday), but (Tuesday) I threw a pitch, I don’t know what pitch number it was, but it just didn’t feel great.”
What does the loss of Austin Warren mean for the Mets pitching staff?
Warren told interim manager Andy Green that the pain kept him from “ripping his sweeper” and led to the round of testing.
Warren was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery in May 2023 when he was a member of the Angels. That naturally made him on edge following the injury, leading him to say he was “definitely a 10” on a level of concern, but he received encouraging results before the game.
“He got good results today,” Green said. “Don’t want to get into all the details but do believe he’ll be back on the mound in short order.”
The Mets have had trouble filling in the final spot in their rotation behind Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Freddy Peralta and Sean Manaea and using their bulk relievers has been one of their safety valvaes.
Warren was one of the team’s options who could work multiple innings as needed, along with Huascar Brazoban and now Kodai Senga, who was tagged for four runs in three innings on Tuesday night. Now, they may have to dig into the minor leagues to occupy that role.
The Mets recalled Tobias Myers from Triple-A Syracuse and added Xzavion Curry to the 40-man roster before Wednesday’s game. That also forced them to designate Matt Seelinger for assignment.
What could Tobias Myers bring back to the table?
Warren’s injury opened a door for Myers to return after he was optioned due to a run of rocky performances in mid-June. The 27-year-old right-hander was optioned for a second time this season after he gave up 14 earned runs in 8⅔ innings across four appearances in June.
In 25 appearances this season, Myers has an 0-2 record with a 6.14 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, but his upside is what he showed early in the season when he allowed five earned runs in 22 innings (2.05 ERA) in his first 10 outings of the season.
“I think we’re continuing to work on finishing at-bats for him,” Green said before the game. He filled up the strike zone really well last time he was with us and when you get to those kill counts, getting north and south of the zone for him is really, really important. That’s where he has to excel at this level in order to end at-bats and pitch more efficiently.
Myers only threw once in Syracuse after he was optioned on June 29. He threw 48 pitches and allowed two earned runs in three innings with three strikeouts in July 3. He allowed the tying run to score on an RBI single by the Royals’ Salvador Perez in the sixth inning on Wednesday but then left two runners stranded in a scoreless seventh inning.
Myers is someone who could provide bulk relief work in the short term and provides a versatile option to fill into whatever role the Mets’ pitching staff needs beyond that.
A harsh reality for Matt Seelinger
The harsh reality of Major League Baseball roster constraints ended Seelinger’s dream less than 24 hours after it began.
Seelinger, who grew up about 20 minutes away from Citi Field on Long Island, was pressed into action in the seventh inning of a tie game on Tuesday night. With a shorthanded bullpen, the 30-year-old right-hander gave up seven runs on four hits and four walks in his first major league frame of his career.
He then worked around a one-out double in the eighth to toss a scoreless eighth inning. But after throwing 52 pitches in his debut, the Mets needed fresh arms in the bullpen and designated him for assignment on Wednesday.
“It was a tough first inning – tough from a manager’s perspective or a teammates perspective – because we desperately needed him to stay out there and pitch and we left him in a tough spot,” Green said. “Then the way he rose up and came back out and gave us a second inning, which we desperately needed, and threw up a zero. it’s something that is giving him a lot of confidence going forward that he can throw up a zero in the big leagues.’
Curry, who last pitched in three major league games for the Marlins in 2025, was added to the roster to help fill in the void. He allowed one run on an RBI double in the ninth inning on Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mets’ creativity with pitching to be tested after Austin Warren injury
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