Mets recall Hefner for bullpen help
Mets recall Hefner for bullpen help
New York now has two holes in its rotation following injuries to Santana and Dillon Gee, once again creating the possibility that top prospect Matt Harvey could make his Major League debut. Miguel Batista took Gee's place in the rotation on Saturday against the Dodgers, but the Mets had yet to decide how to fill Santana's spot. They are unsure whether Batista is a long-term solution, especially after the 41-year-old allowed four runs in three innings in a 8-5 loss to the Dodgers.
"Certainly [Harvey] will be a possibility," said general manager Sandy Alderson, "but we'll look at the other options and make a decision in the next couple of days."
Hefner is in the bullpen for now, and he allowed two runs in two innings against Los Angeles in his third stint with the big league club this season.
He and Harvey are the likely options to take Santana's spot in the rotation, with Alderson saying any promotion for prospect Jeurys Familia would likely be to aid in his development, rather than to fill an immediate need for the organization.
Hefner appeared in 12 games this season for New York, with the first two coming out of the bullpen before he made three starts. The 26-year-old went 1-2, allowing 12 earned runs in 15 2/3 innings before returning to the bullpen, where he allowed nine runs in 16 2/3 innings over nine total appearances, including Saturday's.
He allowed five runs in 15 2/3 innings over three starts since returning to Buffalo, most recently throwing seven innings of one-run ball.
Harvey is 7-4 with a 3.34 ERA in 19 starts for Buffalo this season. He allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out four in his only start since throwing two hitless innings in the Triple-A All-Star Game. The 23-year-old right-hander was scheduled to start on Saturday night against Charlotte.
"We needed to get somebody here for [Saturday]," Collins said. "Jeremy's here, and we'll certainly address that when the game is over, because there has to be another move that is made [for the rotation]."