Morning Briefing: Dedniel Núñez Activated From IL

Good morning, Mets fans!

Dedniel Núñez was activated prior to Friday’s game, marking the end of a lengthy stay on the injured list. Núñez was one of the Mets’ best relievers prior to getting hurt, owning a 2.43 ERA and a .930 WHIP in 24 games. He hadn’t pitched since July 23 and is set to retake his place as a crucial member of the Mets bullpen.

In a corresponding move, the Mets sent trade deadline acquisition Huascar Brazobán to Triple-A Syracuse. Brazobán has a 6.30 ERA in nine appearances with the Mets since being traded.

Wild Card Update

• San Diego Padres (73-57) 7-0 New York Mets (67-62)
• Atlanta Braves (69-59) 3-2 Washington Nationals (58-71)
• Arizona Diamondbacks (73-56) 12-2 Boston Red Sox (67-60)

In terms of the Wild Card race, it was worst case scenario for the Mets, who were shut out by the Padres 7-0 on Friday. San Diego, Atlanta, and Arizona all won, making progress in the Wild Card race while the Mets suffered a shutout loss. The Mets are now 2.5 games behind the Braves for the final Wild Card spot, while the Diamondbacks and Padres are 3.5 games and 3.0 games over the Braves respectively.

Latest Mets News

The Mets continue the four-game set with the Padres on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET. David Peterson (7-1, 3.00) and Michael King (11-6, 3.18 ERA) will take the mound in a battle of a couple of pitchers having really nice seasons.

During Friday’s loss, Paul Blackburn suffered a hand contusion and was removed from the game in the third inning. He will undergo more tests to determine the severity on Saturday.

Prior to last Tuesday’s game between the Mets and Orioles, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports that a Mets staffer approached Corbin Burnes to tell him the Mets have been using Burnes’ mental process as a guideline for the most recent draft class.

Burnes also mentioned that he holds no grudges against Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, from back when the two couldn’t agree on arbitration numbers. Burnes will be a free agent at the end of this season.

Latest MLB News

In terms of what Burnes is looking for as a free agent, the ace said he wants to win: “I am going to have to do a lot of research this offseason of farm systems, young guys coming up, groups of core guys that are on a team. Where does it look like teams are going to be competitive? Where are teams just looking to spend some money to make the fan base happy? Whatever it might be.”

According to Grant Paulsen of MLB Network Radio, the Nationals are calling up top prospect Dylan Crews to make his MLB debut on Monday. Crews has just a .799 OPS across Double-A and Triple-A this year, but he was ranked as the third-best prospect in baseball in MLB Pipeline’s midseason update. The 22-year-old will join fellow rookie James Wood in a revamped Nationals outfield.

Per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, former Met Max Scherzer was scratched from a planned rehab start for Double-A Frisco on Friday. Scherzer has missed most of the year due to injury, his latest ailment being right shoulder fatigue. He is 2-4 with a 3.89 ERA in just eight starts this year.

Speaking of former Mets pitchers on the Rangers, Jacob deGrom made his first rehab start on Thursday night for Double-A Frisco. He pitched two innings, allowing an earned run and striking out three.

Catcher Danny Jansen will catch for Boston in the continuation of a suspended game from earlier this year between the Red Sox and Blue Jays. That will make Jansen the first player in MLB history to technically appear in one game for both teams, as he was actually at the plate for the Blue Jays when the game was suspended.

New Mariners manager Dan Wilson announced that Hall of Famer Edgar Martínez will serve as Seattle’s hitting coach for the remainder of the season.

Red Sox minor leaguer Anthony Felix received a 56-game suspension after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug. The 20-year-old had a 3.55 ERA in the Dominican Summer League.

Latest on MMO

In the latest Mets Minors Recap, Michael Mayer discusses another poor outing for Blade Tidwell in Syracuse.

Michael Famulari breaks down the three-RBI game from Mark Vientos in Thursday’s victory.

Jack Markowski looks at the state of the Mets bullpen with Dedniel Núñez reactivated from the injured list.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Jamie Callahan (30), Bartolomé Fortunato (50), Butch Benton (67)

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