Mets Place Blackburn, Núñez on Injured List, Option Tidwell

The Mets added more injury to insult to their pitching woes on Thursday. Paul Blackburn was placed on the 15-day Injured List due to a right shoulder impingement. The team also placed Dedniel Núñez on the 15-day IL with a right elbow sprain.

Both pitchers could never quite find their footing so far this 2025 season. Blackburn missed the start of the year after he spent the offseason recovering from a spinal fluid leak. The soft-tossing righty also dealt with right knee inflammation that kept him off a big league mound until June. Blackburn made an impressive scoreless start against the Dodgers in his season debut, but has been hit hard ever since. With an ERA totaling 7.71, the Mets are hoping that he can right his season before it’s too late.

Núñez also spent the offseason recovering from injury, a strained flexor tendon in his pitching arm. The Mets slow-played his recovery, and after coming seemingly out of nowhere in 2024 to become a key contributor in the bullpen with his fastball/slider mix, he didn’t make his 2025 debut until May 5. He walked all three batters who subsequently scored, and fewer than two weeks later, he was sent to the minors. Núñez was brought back up and made his return on June 22.

All in all, Núñez had a 4.66 ERA in 10 appearances, but only gave up a run in two of them.

The Mets made some additional moves ahead of their rubber game against the Brewers on Thursday. The team optioned Blade Tidwell to Triple-A, a day after serving as the bulk guy in Game 2 of the split doubleheader, when he got his first major league win.

Austin Warren will stay in Queens after serving as the 27th man during the doubleheader. Justin Hagenman was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, and the team confirmed that it’s calling up Rico Garcia for the first time in 2025.

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