The Mets have placed starter John Maine on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday in what they’re describing as shoulder fatigue. It had been previously announced that Maine had switched spots with Livan Hernandez to give him one more day of rest before he was to face the Yankees Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
According to Mets.com, Maine had an MRI last week, but it did not reveal anything major. Maine said yesterday that even playing catch is laborious right now.
There is no word yet on who will pitch on Saturday but the most likely candidate is Fernando Nieve. Nieve is 3-0, with a 3.70 ERA, when he pitched for Triple-A Buffalo before being called up on June 6.
It’s a pretty bad situation when two of your five original starters are on the disabled list. The Mets were already piecing together their position player situation, but now they will have to do the same with their starting rotation.
If Nieve doesn’t work out and Maine is down for more than 15 days, what should the Mets do? Their other two pitching prospects in the Minor Leagues haven’t exactly been tearing it up lately. Jonathon Niese is 0-6 with an ERA over seven in six starts, while Lance Broadway, a pickup from the White Sox is 0-1 with a 9.31 ERA in three starts.
El Duque? Pedro? Bueller? Anyone?
