Justin

Hagenman

Called upon for a spot start with the Mets rotation in serious limbo, Hagenman could not keep the powerful Yankees’ lineup at bay. They ambushed him right off the bat as Jasson Domínguez and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back homers to begin this game. Despite all the loud contact, Hagenman did manage to generate 12 swings-and-misses. If he gets another turn in this rotation, it’ll come next week against the Orioles.

It’ll be his first MLB start after two appearances in which he’s allowed one run in six innings. He pitched four innings last time out for Triple-A Syracuse, and he could probably throw around 80 pitches if all goes well today.

Hageman gives the Mets a player who can work multiple innings out of their bullpen. He takes the roster spot of Blade Tidwell after Tidwell worked 4 1/3 innings of relief against the Brewers on Wednesday.

Hagenman, 28, will get the boot from the active roster after throwing 2 2/3 innings during Thursday’s game against Atlanta. His demotion makes room for Blade Tidwell with Tidwell starting Friday against the Phillies.

Expectations were that Hagenman would start Friday’s game if he wasn’t needed tonight, but the Mets decided to use him after falling behind 6-1 to the Braves. He’ll probably return to Triple-A now in exchange for a fresh arm to start Friday. Blade Tidwell would make sense, though he hasn’t been great in Triple-A recently.

Hagenman has appeared in just one game for the Mets this season, giving up one run on three hits over 3 1/3 innings against the Twins in mid-April. He’ll give the Mets’ bullpen a fresh arm that’s capable of working multiple innings if necessary on Thursday.

Hagenman threw 3 1/3 innings during Wednesday’s outing against the Twins, and while he pitched well in that outing, New York needs a fresh arm. The 28-year-old will likely be back at some point in May.

Pitching behind an opened, Hagenman came in to start the second and worked three scoreless frames before getting into trouble in the fifth. He was quickly lifted then, ending his day with four strikeouts and no walks. He’ll likely head back to Triple-A now, but the fine showing will help keep him in the mix for callups going forward.

With Griffin Canning (illness) unable to start on Wednesday, the Mets will be using Huascar Brazoban as the opener and then having Hagenman follow him for a few innings. Hagenman has allowed eight earned runs on 15 hits in 10 1/3 innings (three appearances, two starts) in Triple-A this year with 12 strikeouts and four walks. Max Kranick was sent to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

This feels like a bit of gamesmanship. Kranick threw 1 2/3 innings on Tuesday night, and the Mets needed to make room on the active roster for Justin Hagenman, who is going to be a bulk reliever today against the Twins. However, the Mets can bring Kranick back up tomorrow by putting Jose Siri (fractured fibula) on the injured list, which means he wouldn’t need to spend the full 15 days in the minor leagues.