The Mets announced that right-hander Michael Wacha has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Catcher Ali Sanchez has been called up from the club’s alternate training site to take Wacha’s spot on the active roster.
After a strong debut start for New York on July 27, Wacha has struggled over his last two outings, and has an overall 6.43 ERA over his first 14 innings in a Mets uniform. Despite a 3.60 K/BB rate, an 11.6 K/9, and some generally above-average Statcast numbers, Wacha has been hurt badly by the long ball, with three homers allowed over his 14 frames (1.9 HR/9). The early returns suggest a troubling continuation of the homer problem that plagued Wacha last season, as his HR/9 went from 0.9 over the first six years of his career to a sudden 1.8 number in 2019.
Wacha’s absence leaves the Mets further short-handed in a rotation that already lost Noah Syndergaard to Tommy John surgery last spring and Marcus Stroman to the injured list due to a tear in his calf muscle. Mets manager Luis Rojas told the New York Post’s Mike Puma and other reporters that Stroman was still at least another simulated game away from returning, so there isn’t enough time for Stroman to be activated prior to Wednesday, when Wacha was scheduled to start. Erasmo Ramirez, Corey Oswalt, Franklyn Kilome, and Ariel Jurado are all available at the Mets’ alternate training site as potential fill-ins, both for Wednesday or potentially longer if Stroman needs more time.
