Mets Prospect Chris Flexen To Replace Zack Wheeler For Series Finale Vs. Padres

The New York Mets placed right-hander Zack Wheeler on the disabled list on Monday with an upper-arm injury, and have named his replacement: pitching prospect Chris Flexen.

Zack Wheeler – Mets News

Flexen, a 23-year-old righty, will be recalled from Double-A Binghamton on Thursday to start in Wheeler’s spot for the Mets’ four-game series against the Padres in San Diego. In seven starts for Beinghamton, Flexen is 6-1 with a 1.85 ERA and 0.72 WHIP.

Wheeler was previously placed on the DL with biceps tendinitis just last month. Since his return on July 1, he has allowed 11 earned runs and walked 11 over 20 innings. Now, the 27-year-old righty is feeling stress in his humerus, the bone in his upper-right arm.

“It’s soreness,” said Wheeler, who missed both the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons to recuperate from Tommy John surgery. “Bone soreness. It kind of aches.”

Recent CT scans of Wheeler’s shoulder and elbow, on which he had Tommy John surgery two years ago, displayed irritation in the bone but no fractures. The right-hander, who is 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA, said both felt “great.” He now joins Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Robert Gsellman among the Mets pitchers on the DL.

Meanwhile, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo — who are now both in the rotation — missed the first two months of the season with elbow injuries.

One of the few dominant pitchers in the Mets’ rotation is Jacob deGrom (12-3). In eight straight starts, the starting right-hander has a 1.61. ERA. In Monday’s 5-3 victory over the Padres, deGrom struck out eight and allowed two runs over eight innings, marking the fifth time over the past eight starts that he has thrown at least that many innings.

“This guy just doesn’t give in,” said Mets manager Terry Collins. 

There was no immediate timetable for Wheeler’s return. Collins said Wheeler would rest for a few days and then be re-evaluated.

Mets shortstop Jose Reyes stole his 500th career base on Monday. He is second among active players, behind only the Miami Marlins’ Ichiro Suzuki (508).

Lugo will start for the Mets in Tuesday’s game against the Padres in San Diego at 10:10 pm EST. In his last three outings, the righty has a 2.60 ERA.