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New York Mets News: Dilson Herrera, Bobby Parnell Are Activated

By Kenneth Teape

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New York Mets News: Reinforcements are on the way as Dilson Herrera and Bobby Parnell will both be activated prior to Thursday night’s game

The New York Mets received some good news Wednesday when catcher Travis d’Arnaud was activated off the disabled list. The good news kept coming today, as infielder Dilson Herrera and relief pitching Bobby Parnell will also be activated. This is great news for the Mets, who have been crushed by injuries lately. Herrera had been out since May 16th with a broken middle finger that he injured while taking infield practice prior to the game that day. Parnell had been sidelined since the second day of the 2014 season as he underwent Tommy John surgery.

Herrera will undoubtedly receive regular playing time with all of the injuries the Mets are facing. With David Wright’s return at third base uncertain, and Daniel Murphy on the DL with a quad strain, Herrera should be the everyday second baseman until further notice.

While some people will question if Herrera deserves to be handed regular playing time, the reality is the Mets don’t have many other options. Also, the 21-year old Herrera is a top-100 prospect in baseball, so there is obviously some talent there.

While he is slashing a paltry .235/.297/.353, Herrera had a strong rehab assignment, going 3-9 with two RBI. He has also shown the ability to hit at the minor league level, slashing .302/.376/.464. The Mets are hoping they see more of that as they can use any type of production from Herrera as the lineup has been putrid as of late.

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As for Parnell, this will be his first experience with the Mets since he was injured following Opening Day in 2014. The Mets are concerned with Parnell though, as he has yet to reach the same velocity on his fastball during his rehab assignment. He is throwing around 92 MPH, which is almost three MPH off what he had been throwing prior to the injury. His 30-day rehab assignment is over though, which is pretty much the reason he is being recalled. It certainly isn’t his production, as he has an ERA of 11.57 in 15 rehab appearances.

As for his role in the bullpen, Jeurys Familia will remain the closer. He has been outstanding in his first time in the role, and Parnell will undoubtedly get some easier opportunities to get his feet wet again at the major league level.

To have Herrera and Parnell on the roster, the Mets made minor roster moves. Dillon Gee was placed on the bereavement list because of the death of his grandmother. Ruben Tejada was also placed on leave, as he is on the paternity leave as his significant other gave birth to a baby girl on Thursday morning. For now the Mets do not have to make another roster move, but a more permanent decision will have to come once the leaves are up.

For now, the Mets will stick with a four-man bench, which is looking more like a three-man one with the dizziness spells that are plaguing Kevin Plawecki. Take into account one of those three are backup catcher Anthony Recker, and the Mets basically are down to a two-man bench, severely handicapping what Terry Collins can do in late game situations.

For now that is what the Mets will be rolling with, as the more permanent decisions will have to be made within the next three-seven days, when Gee and Tejada’s leaves are up.

Next: Are the Mets in the Top 10 of our Power Rankings?

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