WASHINGTON — A.J. Minter officially hit the 15-day injured list on Sunday after he was diagnosed with a lat strain, but the extent of the injury wasn’t immediately clear to manager Carlos Mendoza.
After the Mets’ 8-7 loss to the Nationals, Mendoza said he had to consult with the medical staff about a prognosis. The lefty reliever was scheduled to receive an MRI exam earlier in the day.
Minter on Saturday cited discomfort in his triceps as the reason for his departure in the eighth inning.
In need of a fresh arm, the Mets selected José Ureña from Triple-A Syracuse to take Minter’s roster spot. Ureña, who was available from the bullpen on Sunday, was chosen in part because he is stretched out and can provide multiple innings in an outing.
The Mets will utilize a sixth starter on Wednesday and could choose Ureña for that spot if he isn’t needed from the bullpen beforehand. But the team is leaning toward bringing up left-hander Brandon Waddell from Syracuse to start or pitch behind an opener against the Diamondbacks.
Ronny Mauricio was placed on a minor league rehab assignment with Single-A St. Lucie. The infielder is rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and subsequent procedure to remove scar tissue that cost him all of last season.
Mendoza said he chose to stick with Starling Marte against right-hander Jackson Rutledge rather than use Jesse Winker as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning with runners on second and third because of the particular matchup. Marte grounded out and the Mets didn’t score in the inning.
“It was a pretty even matchup there,” Mendoza said. “And knowing that the cutter was an effective pitch there, I knew I had Winker, but I trust Marte in that particular situation to get the job done. It just didn’t happen this time. … The cutter is a pitch that is giving Winker some trouble and I stuck with Marte there.”
After finishing the sixth inning at 92 pitches, Tylor Megill was determined to return for the seventh.
“I told Mendy I wanted to go back out there,” Megill said, referring to Mendoza. “The bullpen has been working [a lot], so I wanted to go back out and give another inning and save the bullpen.”
Megill was charged for two runs in the inning — Juan Soto lost a fly ball for a double to begin the Nationals rally — before he was removed with one out. It was Megill’s first time working beyond 5 ¹/₃ innings in his six starts this season.
