The Mets entered Saturday with their bullpen having thrown the second-most innings in the majors and they have another arm now on the 15-day IL, as Drew Smith has been sidelined with right shoulder inflammation.
They are already without Brooks Raley, also on the IL with left elbow inflammation.
Carlos Mendoza said Smith first complained of experiencing tightness following his appearance against the Dodgers last Saturday and then again following an outing Tuesday in San Francisco, when Smith allowed two runs in one inning after getting a few days off.
Mendoza added that the Mets received “some type of good news” regarding the injury because the MRI exam showed only inflammation in the area.
“So we don’t anticipate this being long-term,” Mendoza said. “I hope within this two-week span, we’ll get him back.”
Dedniel Nunez was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take Smith’s spot in the rotation.
The right-hander previously made one appearance out of the pen for the Mets in Atlanta earlier this month.
Mendoza acknowledged the heavy reliance on the bullpen so far “is not ideal.”
“It’s part of the 162 [-game season],’’ Mendoza said. “We’ve been pretty cautious about taking care of our … It’s important starters go deep and I know they will. I see our starters getting better.”
The rotation should get a boost next month, as Kodai Senga continues to make progress from the shoulder injury that’s shelved him since spring training.
He is scheduled to face hitters Monday for the first time since suffering the injury.
And Tylor Megill struck out six batters in two scoreless innings for Single-A Brooklyn on Saturday in his first rehab start since a shoulder strain landed him on the IL.
Senga isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day IL until May 27.
A day after J.D. Martinez’s impressive Mets debut, in which he had a pair of hits, the 36-year-old was back in the lineup at DH on Saturday.
Mendoza has said he will monitor Martinez’s health as he comes back from the back tightness that delayed the start to his season.
“He’s fine,’’ Mendoza said. “We’ll take it day-by-day.”
With Francisco Alvarez on the IL, Mendoza was asked if Omar Narvaez would start the majority of games behind the plate, but Mendoza said that would not be the case, saying there would “definitely be opportunities for [Tomas] Nido.”
“I think this is a 50-50 situation,” Mendoza said of the playing time. “I felt like [Saturday] was a good day to get [Narvaez] in there. Nido will play maybe [Sunday]. We’ll go by matchups and things like that.”
Brett Baty is one of several hitters who have fallen back into a slump, entering Saturday in a 2-for-21 funk in his previous seven games — and 2-for-19 since returning from hamstring tightness.
“It’s one of those stretches when he’s not getting results,’’ Mendoza said. “I checked with him and his hamstring is fine.”