Dedniel

Nunez

The 28-year-old hurler joined the Mets’ bullpen prior to the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Cardinals. He had made 10 appearances at Syracuse prior to his promotion, registering a 3.48 ERA, 2.03 WHIP and a 13/7 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 innings.

Núñez was brought along slowly this spring after finishing last season on the shelf with a forearm injury. The hard-throwing 28-year-old righty will get some extra time to ramp-up out of the spotlight at Triple-A Syracuse. He figures to rejoin New York’s bullpen mix at some point in April.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza made it official that Reed Garrett, José Butto and Danny Young will open the year in New York’s bullpen. The decision to jettison Walton leaves Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña as the Mets’ primary bench options, but they haven’t officially made the team yet, added Mendoza. It also means that A.J. Minter and Dedniel Nuñez are probably headed to the injured list.

The Mets have been slow-playing Núñez this spring, leading to some concern that he’s still having a tough time overcoming last year’s forearm injury. He was in midseason form today, though, averaging 97.2 mph with his fastball and 88.9 mph with his slider. That’s up about one mph from last year. Núñez looked like closing material when healthy last season, and while the Mets hope to never need him in that role, there’s a chance he’ll turn into an elite eighth-inning guy.

Nuñez doesn’t have a ton of time to fully ramp up in advance of Opening Day as he continues to work his way back from last year’s flexor strain. The hard-throwing 28-year-old might require a quick injured list trip to continue building up his stamina at the outset of the year, but he’s going to be an option for New York’s high-leverage mix in short order.

A report earlier in the week declared Núñez fully healthy, but this seems to contradict that belief. The 28-year-old dealt with a sprained part of the pronator mass in his right forearm and was unable to contribute for the Mets during the postseason. If healthy he’ll be a high-leverage arm for the New York to open 2025, but a trip to the injured list to begin the campaign can’t be ruled out just yet.

Núñez missed a lot of time after the All-Star break with forearm tightness, including two trips to the IL. However, the 28-year-old has allegedly been throwing 96 mph in team-supervised live bullpen sessions in the Dominican Republic this off-season. If he remains healthy heading into the season, he should open the year in the Mets bullpen.

Núñez looked great for the Mets in the first half of the year, but he got hurt in late July, returned to make one appearance a month later and was forced back to the IL with the same problem. He ends the year with a 2.31 ERA and a 48/8 K/BB in 35 innings out of the pen.

The roster spot will be filled by Tylor Megill, who is slated to start Friday’s game. Núñez had made just one appearance since coming off the injured list last weekend. He previously missed a month with a problem in the same area.

No decision seems to have been made on whether he’ll go back on the IL. Núñez missed a month with a forearm strain before being activated Friday and throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings Saturday. He surely would have been a factor in last night’s game, which was blown by Edwin Díaz in the eighth, if he’d been available.