The Mets’ Pitching Staff Has Officially Gone Full M*A*S*H
- Mark Rosenman
- Jul 3
- 4 min read

M*A*S*H was one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Hawkeye, Radar, Hot Lips Houlihan, I loved them all. But when my team’s pitching staff starts looking like they need their own (M*A*S*H*) Mets Arm Surgical Hospital? It's not quite as entertaining.
Lately, the Mets’ mound situation has resembled a triage tent more than a rotation. Between cranky shoulders, barking elbows, and emergency call-ups, it feels like Carlos Mendoza is less a manager and more a battlefield medic. This week alone, Paul Blackburn (shoulder) and Dedniel Núñez (elbow) hit the IL, Blade Tidwell was optioned back to Syracuse after a long-relief outing, and three fresh arms—Justin Hagenman, Austin Warren, and Rico Garcia—were shipped in to help plug the leaks. Meanwhile, somewhere Klinger is wearing his Toledo Mud Hens jersey, shaking his head in disbelief.

With Blackburn originally slated to start Friday’s Subway Series opener and Sunday’s starter still up in the air, it leaves Carlos Mendoza scrambling for starters: Hagenman is the logical emergency Friday plug‑in after two spotless appearances (1.50 ERA in six innings), and Sunday could be an all‑hands bullpen scramble unless prospect Brandon Sproat gets the Bat‑Phone call from Syracuse. But Mets GM David Stearns made it clear he’d rather not rush a top prospect like Nolan McLean or Brandon Sproat into a one-off start. While he didn’t completely close the door on that idea, Stearns prefers to explore other options for now, especially with Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea inching closer to returning from their injuries.
When Rico Garcia toes the rubber for the Mets, he’ll become the 34th different pitcher to take the mound this season. That number includes cameo relief appearances like Jared Young and Travis Jankowski’s brief 1.1 innings of mop-up duty. For perspective, the Mets used a total of 37 pitchers all of last year. So yeah, that’s a lot of arms flying out of the bullpen — and none of them come with a return-to-sender option.
If you’re thumbing through your scorecard wondering, “Who’s this Rico kid?”—grab a beverage. Garcia, 31, was a 30th‑round steal out of Hawaii Pacific back in 2016. He made his major‑league debut with Colorado in 2019, then pinballed through San Francisco, Baltimore, Oakland, Washington, and finally landed with the Mets on a minor‑league pact last November.
His 2024 at Triple‑A Rochester turned heads: 61⅔ innings, 3.94 ERA, 13 K per nine, and 20—yes, twenty—saves in the hitter‑happy International League.
Fast‑forward to 2025 in Syracuse: the line looks meh at first glance—4.45 ERA over 30⅓ frames, but look a little deeper and you’ll find a 27.4% strikeout rate and a June surge (3.18 ERA, 15 K, only three walks in 11⅓ innings). April was a garage sale, May a clean‑up, June a renaissance.
The righty’s four‑seam sits mid‑90s, he pairs it with a Bugs‑Bunny changeup in the mid‑80s and a low 80's curveball that snaps down and away like a classic strikeout pitch. He’s out of minor‑league options, so when and if the Mets want to send him back down later they’ll have to sneak him through waivers—good luck with that K‑rate.
Garcia has proven he can handle multiple two-inning stints in Syracuse, which is exactly what the Mets’ bullpen needs right now. With starters struggling to go deep into games and no immediate relief in sight—even with Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea nearing returns—the bullpen is being taxed heavily. The Mets rank in the lower third of the National League in relief strikeouts, so Garcia’s ability to generate swings and misses provides a much-needed upgrade. Born and raised in Honolulu, and seasoned in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Rico isn’t intimidated by big moments or big ballparks—he’s ready to pitch long and steady to help stabilize the staff.
The Mets hope Garcia brings some much-needed stability and length to the mound, the Mets’ injury woes refuse to ease up on the bullpen. Case in point: Dedniel Núñez just can’t catch a break—or, more accurately, keep one from happening.
After firing a fastball to his final batter the other night, Núñez felt something in his elbow that made his stomach drop faster than a Citi Field foul ball into the stands. The early diagnosis? Not great. Tommy John surgery is now officially on the table. Again.
The 29-year-old righty already had the elbow rebuild once, back in 2021. And just last year, he dodged what looked like another UCL scare and avoided going under the knife. But this latest tweak sounds more ominous, and Núñez admitted that surgery could be the next step depending on how things respond in the coming days.
It’s a tough break for a guy who had finally started looking like a reliable bullpen piece, stringing together a few solid outings and rediscovering some bite on his fastball-slider mix. If this really is another trip to Dr. Andrews’ greatest hits collection, he could be looking at another year-plus on the shelf. Baseball isn’t fair. Especially not to guys like Dedniel Núñez, who worked so hard just to get back in the conversation.
Sean Manaea is one more rehab spin-cycle away, and Kodai Senga finally has a minor-league assignment on the calendar. If both return healthy, July could look a lot less like triage and more like baseball.
Prepare yourself—the Mets’ pitching staff is still a bit like the 4077th, but with new reinforcements, the war might finally be turning.
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