The Mets’ bullpen picture just got a lot thinner.
On Monday, the club placed Devin Williams on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain, and there’s no recovery timetable yet. To fill the roster spot, the Mets recalled Jonathan Pintaro from Triple-A Syracuse.
Williams was the last bullpen arm still standing from the group the Mets opened the season with, and his injury arrives right after a major deadline shakeup. Last week, the team shipped out Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter and Huascar Brazoban.
The shoulder issue also followed a brief stretch of unease. Williams had been unavailable for a game against the Guardians last week because of arm fatigue. He returned to work Friday for the first time in five days and gave up two earned runs on three hits and one walk while throwing 21 pitches against the Pirates.
The Mets bet big on Williams in the offseason, signing him to a three-year, $51 million deal after Edwin Diaz left for a three-year contract with the Dodgers. So far in his first year in New York, Williams is 3-2 with a 4.66 ERA and a 3.09 FIP, along with 16 saves in 19 chances. He’s struck out 51 batters in 38⅓ innings and owns a 1.66 WHIP.
Now the obvious question: who gets the ninth inning next?
Daniel Duarte has been getting the first crack at higher-leverage work. Since last Monday’s deadline, Andy Green has pushed the 29-year-old right-hander into bigger spots.
Duarte picked up a hold with two outs in the seventh, earned his second career save with a scoreless 10th, and worked a scoreless eighth ahead of Williams in a 6-4 win last Friday. In 11 appearances this season, he has given up two earned runs in 15⅓ innings with 13 strikeouts and a 0.78 WHIP.
Kodai Senga is another possibility, even if it would be a return to the bullpen for the first time since his early career in Japan. His fastball and twisted forkball have played well in one-inning bursts, and he’s already logged two scoreless innings in that role.
Those came in ninth- and seventh-inning appearances in wins over the Guardians. Across the eighth and ninth innings this season, Senga has allowed one earned run in 4⅔ innings with three strikeouts.
Then there’s Jefry Yan, the wild-card option. The hard-throwing lefty has only two major league innings under his belt, but he has handled pressure well so far, tossing two scoreless innings while working around three hits and two walks. Yan brings a big arm to match the moment, with a fastball averaging 98.8 mph and an 87.1 mph slider.
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