Mets Articles

Tim Byrdak Needs Knee Surgery

The Mets lack of depth has already reared its ugly head — Tim Byrdak, the Mets lone lefty in the bullpen, needs knee surgery and will be out for six weeks.

timByrdak will undergo surgery Tuesday morning in New York to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee (perhaps they can do some work on that mustache as well).

“It was something, working out in the off-season, there was a little discomfort,” Byrdak said. “I actually felt it when I went to sit on the couch one day. I went to put my foot underneath me and I said I really didn’t feel right. But there was no injury, no pop, no sudden movement that tweaked it. It’s been something kind of nagging around. I was pitching with it this whole time. It’s still kind of there. I sought treatment for it and it wasn’t really responding to the treatment.”

So who will replace Byrdak as the Mets lefty specialist? Not an easy question to answer. The situation is so bad that the Mets are considering signing C.J. Nitkowski, the St. John’s product who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2005.

Other candidates are equally enticing — veterans Garrett Olsen and Chuck James, and prospects Robert Carson and Josh Edgin, who was just moved to the major league camp following Byrdak’s diagnosis.

And then there is Daniel Herrera. The little screwball pitcher (he throws a screwball, he’s not a screwball himself) looked pretty good late in 2011 after coming over in the K-Rod deal. But the Mets are not high on him — they released him during the off-season, only to clear waivers and resign with the team.

Much like the Republican presidential field, this could be a choice of the lesser of several evils. More than anything, it exposes just how vulnerable the Mets are to injuries to any of their players.


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