Mets place RHP Reed Garrett on 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation

NEW YORK (AP) — Reed Garrett was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday because of right elbow inflammation, and the New York Mets are optimistic the reliever will miss the minimum amount of time after an MRI showed no ligament damage.

The move was made retroactive to Saturday, a day after Garrett allowed two runs and three hits in the eighth inning of a 12-7 win at Atlanta. Garrett threw two four-seam fastballs in his 28 pitches and allowed RBI singles to Jurickson Profar and Ronald Acuña Jr.

“He was having a hard time recovering,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before the opener of a three-game series against the NL East-leading Phillies. “Obviously we use this guy a lot. As of late, the past couple of weeks even on days that people probably thought he was available, we were staying away from him because he was having a hard time until yesterday after he played catch, it’s like we’re going to take a look at this.”

Garrett is 3-5 with three saves and a 3.61 ERA in a career-high 54 appearances this season. He allowed multiple runs for the third time in five outings Friday and has a 6.97 ERA over his last 10 appearances.

Mendoza said the 32-year-old Garrett will get a cortisone shot and could resume throwing a few days after the injection.

Last season, Garrett missed a month with swelling in his right elbow. After he returned, he had a 4.11 ERA in his final 17 appearances and a 5.40 ERA in seven postseason appearances as the Mets advanced to the NLCS against the Dodgers.

The Mets replaced Garrett on the roster by bringing up José Castillo from Triple-A Syracuse. Castillo is 0-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 14 relief appearances with New York after being acquired from the Diamondbacks on May 15.

The Mets also transferred Frankie Montas to the 60-day injured list, two days after announcing the struggling right-hander will miss the rest of the season because of a right elbow injury.

A little over a week after spraining his right thumb on a slide at second base in the Little League Classic against the Mariners, catcher Francisco Alvarez showed more progress in his recovery from the injury.

Alvarez took batting practice on the field for the second straight day, and he is slated for another BP session on Tuesday. He could start a minor league rehabilitation assignment Wednesday or Thursday.

“I couldn’t believe it. Somebody sent me a video of him hitting here, back at Citi Field,” Mendoza said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way this guy is swinging the bat.’ … That’s pretty impressive there.”

Alvarez is batting .323 with four homers, 13 RBIs and a 1.054 OPS in 21 games after spending a month in Triple-A. The 23-year-old Alvarez is hitting .265 with seven homers and a .787 OPS in 56 games for the Mets overall this season.

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