July 24: The Mets’ plan for Scott is rest and rehab for now, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Hopefully he can return before the end of the season. Given the timing of the injury, it is reasonable enough to try the rest/repair route even if surgery is considered an option. The surgery could keep Scott out until the end of the 2025 campaign, so the Mets will go with non-surgical treatment in hopes that he can return later in the year and get time off to rest.
July 23: The Mets announced that right-hander Christian Scott He was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right UCL sprain, which resumes until July 22. Left hand Alex Young he was recalled in a corresponding motion.
At this point, it’s unclear how severe Scott’s sprain is or how long the Mets expect him to be out, but it’s about progress. The ulnar collateral ligament is the one replaced in Tommy John surgery and a sprain, by definition, involves some degree of stretching or tearing.
That doesn’t mean Scott is definitely going under the knife, as pitchers are sometimes able to come back from a UCL sprain in non-surgical ways. For the latest and perhaps best example, Mason Miller of Athletics was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in May of last year. He missed a few months of the season but returned with the club in September and has been one of the best pitchers in baseball here in 2024.
But avoiding the scalpel can also be a temporary measure, as seen in the case of Kyle Bradish of the Orioles. He was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in Spring Training this year but was returned to IL in early May. But after eight starts with the O’s, he was back in IL and needed Tommy John surgery.
Further updates will reveal more about Scott’s absence but, as mentioned, it’s not good news either way. The young pitcher’s stock has risen significantly over the past two years, as he posted a 2.57 ERA in the minors last year. In 87 2/3 innings at three different levels, he struck out 31.9% of batters and walked just 3.6%.
He continued to play well in the minors this year and has started to play in the big leagues. His first nine starts at the big league level haven’t been great, as he has a 4.56 ERA and a 19.8% strikeout rate, but that’s a small sample size and he’s obviously still getting his feet wet in the majors.
The Mets were no doubt hoping he would continue to improve, putting up better numbers as he went along, but that will be put on hold indefinitely. Even his defeat for a few months will take him out of the club’s rotation plans. The Mets are currently 51-48 and clinging to the last Wild Card spot in the National League. As they look to retain that spot, they will do so without Scott in their mix for the time being.
Kodai Senga expected to be out of IL this week, joining the rotation once Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino again David Peterson. The club has it too Taylor Megill with an optional assignment once Jose Butto again Adrian Houser right now in the big league. A few weeks ago it was reported that the club had enough options for a healthy rotation that they were considering selling a member of that team while still trying to compete this year. Reporting from this week has thrown cold water on that and this news about Scott perhaps makes that less likely, although the club at least has plenty of solid rotation options moving forward even if their trade options are reduced.
Despite the immediate impact of removing the club from the depth of the rotation, it is less than ideal for a developing starter to lose significant time. That’s true even for a few months but obviously it could be even more true if Scott ends up needing surgery and possibly missing all of 2025.
Source link
