Mets option den Dekker to bring in a pitcher

PHILADELPHIA -- With their bullpen in tatters after consecutive 14-inning games, the Mets on Sunday made yet another move to shore it up. The team selected the contract of left-hander Dana Eveland from Triple-A Las Vegas, while optioning outfielder Matt den Dekker. That transaction came one day after the Mets called up right-hander Buddy Carlyle, flying him in the morning of Saturday's game and using him for three innings of relief.

Serving mostly as a starter at Las Vegas, Eveland was 4-1 with a 3.91 ERA in 12 appearances. He last pitched on Tuesday in a five-inning start, meaning he is stretched out to give the Mets as many innings as needed in an emergency. His presence should come in handy, regardless, considering the Mets are in the middle of a stretch of 20 consecutive games without an off-day.

"The veterans on the team know what it's about," manager Terry Collins said. "The younger players, they've got to learn how to get through it. It's part of their growing process to learn how to get through back-to-back days like this. They're very uncommon. I don't think anybody's got a foolproof answer of how to respond."

By optioning den Dekker, the Mets were able to preserve the roster spot of Carlyle, who gave the Mets three much-needed scoreless innings in Saturday's 14-inning victory. The Mets will play with a short bench on Sunday, before eventually recalling another outfielder.

den Dekker appeared in just three games off the bench in his Major League cameo, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The Mets would not have had the flexibility to option den Dekker had regular center fielder Juan Lagares' ribcage injury persisted into Sunday.

In theory, the roster moves meant the Mets did not have to worry about pitching issues in Sunday's game -- though they hoped the same thing on Saturday, before five extra innings destroyed that notion. Right-handers Vic Black and Jenrry Mejia were both unavailable on Saturday; Carlos Torres and Carlyle were likewise presumably on the shelf for Sunday's game.