This Putz thing
I’m still trying to process this whole J.J. Putz thing.
The Mets’ much-heralded eighth-inning guy who wasn’t, the dude for whom they traded a slew of young players, came out yesterday and said that the Mets never gave him a physical immediately after the trade, despite the bone spur in his elbow that hampered his 2008 season. Putz called the exam he received during Spring Training “a formality,” and insisted that the Mets convinced him to pitch through pain rather than undergoing surgery recommended by Dr. David Altcheck.
The Mets, in turn, released this statement:
In our review of the player’s medical records in the acquisition of J.J. Putz, we were aware that he had a bone spur before the trade. He had the same condition in 2008 and was able to pitch with it. J.J. underwent an exam during Spring Training and an additional exam and MRI before he was cleared to play in last year’s World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately the spur did flare up again in May, and he missed the rest of the season.
OK. For what it’s worth, Putz did spend time on the disabled list in 2008 with an injury in the elbow, probably the type of thing worth checking out when giving up so many players. But to the Mets’ credit, Putz did pitch pretty well after returning from the injury in late July, so most likely the Mets were guilty, once again, of looking only at the bright side.
It’s worth noting that Putz stands only to gain by throwing the Mets under the bus now. The Amazins have become league-wide whipping boys, so blaming the team for his struggles in 2009 is probably a pretty easy way for Putz to put his best foot forward for his new fanbase in Chicago.
After all, if Putz was in so much pain, why’d he agree to pitch in the World Baseball Classic?
Still, it’s hard to give the Mets the benefit of the doubt in the situation, since everything Putz says seems to jive with everything else we’ve heard about the way the Mets handled injuries last season.
More of the same. It’s Groundhog Day.
Anyway, while it’s certainly bad, it’s also certainly last year’s issue. It reflects poorly on Mets management, for sure, but just about everything from last season already reflects poorly on Mets management. As Matt Cerrone just pointed out to me, the real concern will be when this keeps happening, now that they’ve promised to make changes.
Still, that Putz was injured — and that the Mets knew he was injured — at the time of the deal only thrusts that trade upward in the ranks of epic Omar Minaya failures. Few criticized the deal at the time — I was ambivalent — but the most valuable cog the Mets ultimately got out of the trade was Sean Green.
And — and I’m not sure if the credit should go to Seattle’s scouting or Seattle’s good fortune here — one of the Minor Leaguers the Mets gave up in the deal, Ezequiel Carrera, emerged as a prospect. The outfielder posted a .441 on-base percentage at Double-A last year, and could be better than Gary Matthews Jr. right now.
