HOUSTON — Everything went according to plan for Paul Blackburn during spring training. The right-hander, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Oakland A’s last summer to bolster the Mets‘ starting rotation, suffered back-to-back freak injuries in August and September, and hasn’t pitched in anything other than a spring training game since.
After making it through some challenging starts to finish spring training healthy, the Mets decided to put him in the bullpen to start the season, with the plan being to then move him to the rotation as the sixth man in early April. But the day after his final Grapefruit League start, he woke up with a sore right knee.
No longer were things going according to plan.
“I feel for him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Friday at Daikin Park. “He’s been through some freaky injuries. Some were scary, especially the one that he was dealing with, the back fluid and all that — pretty scary. And then he works so hard in the offseason, he’s having a really good camp, feeling good, and then this pops up after his last start in spring training.”
Luckily, this injury seems to be minor, but it was still enough to land him on the 15-day injured list to start the season. Blackburn departed Houston on Friday to continue his rehab in New York. Given that he’s responded well to a gel injection, he doesn’t think the rehab process will take long.
“I feel great,” Blackburn said. “I guess it’s one of those things where they put the gel in and you have to wait seven days to just be able to rotate on it and everything like that. So just kind of waiting for those seven days to be up, then get going.”
Imaging didn’t show any structural damage, only some cartilage that appears to be “pissed off.” Fluid was drained from the knee before the injection. Blackburn is feeling optimistic, which might be a victory of sorts considering the bad luck he’s had since last season.
Blackburn missed nearly three months of the season last year before the trade with a stress fracture in his foot. After the trade, he made five starts with the Mets, with the fifth being disastrous.
Facing the Padres in San Diego in late August, Blackburn gave up five earned runs over 2 1/3 innings and then was hit on the hand with a comebacker. The Mets put him on the injured list to get the swelling down, but then he encountered another problem with his back. He wasn’t recovering in between workouts and throwing sessions and while the back pain wasn’t major, it was strange.
The diagnosis was just as strange: a spinal fluid leak in his lower back. It’s about as uncommon of an injury for a baseball player that you can think of, and typically only seen when a collision is involved.
Blackburn missed the postseason and underwent surgery to repair the leak in November.
The Mets had their doubts, but Blackburn was ahead of schedule on his rehab and confident that he would be ready to start the season. But then he woke up with an angry knee on Sunday.
While there is an understandable amount of frustration, Blackburn feels like he dodged a bullet. The injury could have been worse, and if he’s able to return after his 15 days are up, that would have him joining the Mets for their trip to face his old team in their new Sacramento digs.
He should be cleared to start throwing Monday, and won’t need a lot of time to build back up his arm and his pitch count.
“I think everything we got back is good news,” Blackburn said. “Everything has progressed really well, so right now, it’s just kind of waiting out those seven days to be able to rotate on it again.”
BIG LEAGUE BATY
Brett Baty got his first big league start at second base on Friday against the Astros. The transition from second to third started last season in Triple-A, and Baty worked with an infield coach in the offseason. While he came into camp relatively green at second base, the Mets saw strong progress the more he played the position.
Communicating with other infielders, covering the right base in specific situations, getting the ball out of his glove in time to finish double plays and throwing from different angles were all areas where the Mets saw improvement.
Now, it’s about getting used to a faster game.
“That’s part of it — your ability to slow the game down, to your ability to move on to the next play,” Mendoza said. “The game is going to be fast and I think it starts with the preparation, and starts with the anticipation of knowing what to do with the baseball before the plays happen. That’s what good infielders do, and especially when you’re playing up middle.”
SPROAT WINS SPRING AWARD
Right-hander Brandon Sproat was named the John J. Murphy Award winner as the top Mets rookie in spring training. The Mets’ top pitching prospect, who was drafted in 2023 out of the University of Florida, Sproat started two Grapefruit League games and allowed only two earned runs on four hits, with one walk and three strikeouts.
