With Torres ailing, Mets call up Stauffer

WASHINGTON -- Thirty-eight players crammed into the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park on Tuesday afternoon, the 38th of them arriving earlier in the day. That was veteran pitcher Tim Stauffer, an injury replacement for Carlos Torres, who will miss at least a week or two with a left calf strain.

To make room on their 40-man roster, the Mets recalled outfielder Darrell Ceciliani from Triple-A Las Vegas and placed him on the 60-day disabled list, thereby making all but two of their 40-man constituents active. Though teams are allowed to use as many as 40 players in September, most clubs -- particularly contending ones -- prefer to keep their roster sizes in the low 30s.

Not the Mets, who also welcomed pitcher Logan Verrett, infielder Dilson Herrera and catcher Johnny Monell back to the clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon. Of those three, only Verrett figures to have a significant role going forward as a regular Matt Harvey rotation sub.

Stauffer, too, could see some high-leverage innings, sliding into the swingman role that Torres has handled competently for most of the past three seasons. A former starting pitcher with the Padres, Stauffer signed a Minor League deal with the Mets earlier this summer, going 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in eight starts at Las Vegas. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen earlier this year in Minnesota, posting a 6.60 ERA in 13 appearances.