CHICAGO — Sean Reid-Foley hasn’t had any imaging yet, but he’s pretty sure he knows what’s wrong with his right shoulder.
The Mets placed the right-handed reliever on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Friday (June 20) with a shoulder impingement, the same injury that forced him to the IL at the start of the season. Danny Young was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to give the Mets another left-handed option in the bullpen.
The feeling in his arm doesn’t exactly feel the same as it did in late March when he suffered the first impingement, but it’s affecting his pitching in the same way.
“I would say yes, but no,” Reid-Foley said Saturday morning at Wrigley Field. “It doesn’t feel like it, but it definitely is the same diagnosis as of right now, without getting imaging.”
Imaging will take place Monday when the Mets return to New York.
Over the last week, Reid-Foley’s struggled to recover in between outings and it took him longer than normal to get to full effectiveness once on the mound. He couldn’t dial up his fastball to 94-95 and he was missing spots.
“That last outing in Texas, it took him a while to get going,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “After a couple of hitters, [pitching coach Jeremy Hefner] made a mound visit and he expressed that we were looking at the velo at like 91. Then, obviously, the day off after that, and then yesterday, talking to him, he went out played and catch, then after the game, he came in and we decided to make that move.”
“Do you want me at 60%, or do you want me at 100%?” Reid-Foley said. “You’ve seen me at both, and I don’t really, I don’t like pitching at 60%. It’s not that cool. I’m sure you guys don’t like watching it at 60%, it’s not that fun. But we’ll get there. I’ll be back out there yelling and stuff, like I always do.”
Reid-Foley had not allowed an earned run since May 31 and had only allowed one inherited runner to score over his last 5 2/3 innings. The Mets frequently call on him in different situations, be it a late-game, high-leverage hold or to pitch multiple innings in close games. Having struggled with injuries throughout his career, including Tommy John surgery in 2022, Reid-Foley was finally enjoying a mostly-healthy season in the big leagues.
However, Reid-Foley often wears a shirt that has become popular among the Mets that says “relentless optimism” across the chest and he’s choosing to remain optimistic, with the understanding that this isn’t a huge setback.
“I want to be a part of this and it sucks being on the shelf watching, not being able to contribute,” he said. “But you know, if we have to take this step back to take two steps forward, let’s do it.”
MARTE REMOVED WITH KNEE PAIN
Outfielder Starling Marte was removed from the Saturday loss against the Cubs after the second inning with right knee pain. He’s been battling some knee discomfort and pain since the Mets were in Washington earlier this month, with the team limiting his time on the turf field in London because of it.
He was mostly fine earlier in the week against Texas, but two games on the turf could have aggravated it. He’s unsure why he felt it again this weekend in Chicago, but he informed the training staff that it was too painful to play after his first at-bat in the top of the second.
“It started to flare up again yesterday, but I thought that with the treatment that I had with the training staff, it would end up getting better,” Marte said through the team translator. “But it ended up that the pain never really dissipated. I tried to go out there and play, but I thought the best thing to do was to get out of the game.”
With the 35-year-old coming off of an injury-plagued season, the Mets have sought ways to manage his playing time this year, but he’s been too productive at the plate to sit. Marte has hit .357 with two doubles, two triples, one home run, 11 RBI and six walks with .937 OPS over his last 15 games (62 plate appearances).
Marte will sit Sunday and go through testing and imaging on Monday in New York.
“He’s an important part of our team in the way he’s swinging the bat and what he brings to the table in so many different areas of the game,” Mendoza said. “We’ll see what we’re dealing with here. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious, just a couple of days and then he’ll be back there.”
SENGA’S NEXT STEP
The Mets sent right-hander Kodai Senga (right capsular shoulder strain and triceps tightness) to the club’s complex in Port St. Lucie to face live hitters. The ace will throw 20 pitches (one inning) to minor league hitters Sunday. Having already gone through a lengthy rehab, the Mets could send him on a minor league assignment next week, but they aren’t looking ahead that far.
