Danny Young proves indispensable for the injury-plagued Mets bullpen

SAN DIEGO – At the start of the Mets season, Danny Young was at best Plan C as a left-handed replacement.

But he is proving to be indispensable as the club has few other options.

The season began with talented left-hander Brooks Raley as the linchpin in the bullpen with newly signed free agent Jake Diekman behind him.

But Raley suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in April that required season-ending elbow surgery, and Diekman's rollercoaster ride ended last month when he was released by the Mets.

Enter the 30-year-old Young, who has pitched sporadically in the major leagues for the Mariners and Braves over the past two seasons. (He was sidelined for most of last year with a hip injury that required surgery.)

He entered Saturday's game with a 3.10 ERA in 29 appearances for the Mets and showed his versatility by occasionally playing multiple innings.

In his last 16 appearances since July 10, he has an ERA of 1.62.

Manager Carlos Mendoza has used Young wisely, but when he got a chance in a crucial situation on Thursday, the left-hander came into the game in the sixth inning when the Mets had a two-run lead over the Padres and delivered a perfect frame.

“I'm the only left-handed hitter down there right now and he trusts me to use it,” Young said before the Mets resumed their series against the Padres at Petco Park on Saturday. “He trusts me enough to use me when the time is right.”

A night later, after Paul Blackburn was hit in the right hand by a line drive in the third inning and left with a bruise, Young was needed in an extended role and pitched two scoreless innings.

The more Mets officials saw of Young, the more they liked him.

“We knew roughly what he could do based on his material; we just didn't know how his hip would react,” said pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. “We knew that when he's himself and healthy, he would be a good addition to the slot with the sinker/sweeper combo — he's got a cutter, he just doesn't throw it very often — that could really help us.”

Young has 39 strikeouts in 29 innings despite a fastball that averaged just 91.2 mph.

“Most of the time he puts himself in good positions counting-wise to use his big moves to his advantage,” Hefner said.[Thursday] there were a couple of 3-2 counts where he finally got the hit out, so that could have easily gone the other way. Credit to him because he made the pitch when it mattered, and it's such a wide-ranging move that it's hard for a hitter to offset it.”

Young said it all comes down to the confidence he has to throw the ball into the strike zone.

“I have to trust my stuff and if I make it into the box, I'm fine,” he said. “Usually when I get in trouble, I beat myself.”

As one of the few Mets pitchers with minor league options remaining, Young is aware that his place on the roster is not yet secure.

But as the only left-handed reliever – and one who has excelled for the club – he has survived the roster shrinkage.

Most recently, the Mets had to make room for Dedniel Nunez and decided to send Huascar Brazoban to Triple-A Syracuse.

“I was either optioned this year if I threw well or optioned if I threw poorly,” Young said. “It doesn't really matter. Sometimes you're just a victim of roster shortages or whatever the team needs.”