Livescore
Mets right-hander Drew Smith is likely headed for a second Tommy John surgery after an initial MRI on his right elbow revealed that he has “significant ligament damage.”
“It’s not good news,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s hard man, this is a professional, he went down earlier this year and got back and was always available and always wanted to take the ball. To see him go down this way is hard, but he’ll get through it.”
Smith said that he first felt something in his elbow during his outing on Friday afternoon in Chicago, but he thought after undergoing treatment the next day that the issue would just go away.
Instead, the righty was forced to quickly ramp up ahead of another appearance when Edwin Diaz was ejected from Sunday’s game, and after he had trouble getting loose he knew the damage was already done.
Smith officially landed on the 15-day injured list ahead of Wednesday’s Subway Series finale against the Yankees and he underwent imaging which revealed the worst.
The team is still seeking a second opinion to confirm the tough news, but based on the outlook from the primary tests, it appears his season could be coming to a disappointing ending.
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Smith, as he is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career this offseason, so now his future in the Big Apple is a bit of a question mark.
“This really stings,” he said. “It sucks man, this will be my second one. I’ve been with the Mets for a long time and I love this organization, they’ve done a lot for me over the years.
“Going into free agency, it’s a tough time for this to happen, but there’s never a good time for this to happen. I loved my time here, I don’t know if it’s over obviously but it could be, and it just sucks to see it end like this.”
While Smith his his share of ups and downs along the way, he established himself as a solid middle-to-high leverage reliever over his six years with the club, pitching to a 3.48 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
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