Mets setup man Dedniel Núñez out for the rest of the season

PHILADELPHIA – The New York Mets will not get a key piece of their bullpen back this season.

Dedniel Núñez, who emerged as a key substitute for New York in mid-summer, is out for the rest of the season with a flexor injury in his right arm. Núñez received an injection of platelet-rich plasma on Friday.

“Disappointing,” said coach Carlos Mendoza. “He was great for us and we were hoping to get him back. This is a big blow.”

Rookie Núñez first landed on the injured list in the last week of July with a pronator strain in his right foot. At the time, the Mets thought they were being extra cautious with a pitcher who had undergone multiple elbow surgeries and was not used to the sustained stress he had earned through his performance.

Núñez returned a little over a month later, pitching 1 2/3 innings in a game against the Padres. He struggled to recover from that appearance, and the Mets kept him out of action for a few days in hopes he would pull through. However, by the end of the week, Núñez was placed back on the injured list with right forearm tightness.

Nevertheless, the club assumed that he could return this season, in part because the objective data showed no signs of a worrying elbow lesion. In fact, Mendoza said on Friday that everything was fine with the ligament in Núñez's elbow.

When asked whether surgery was still an option, Mendoza said: “Anything is possible.”

“We hope the PRP works here,” he added.

In Núñez's absence, the Mets will rely even more heavily on José Buttó, Phil Maton, Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek to bridge the gap to Edwin Díaz in the ninth inning.

(Photo: Matthew Childs / Reuters via Imagn Images)