Mets recall Logan Verrett, send Rafael Montero down
Montero stepped up in a spot start for the Mets Monday in his first MLB game since April 19.
Rafael Montero has been sent down to the minors, with Logan Verrett rejoining the team from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Keeping with the late-summer theme, the Mets called up Montero from Double-A Binghamton for a spot start against Miami on Monday. He delivered in a big spot against the Marlins’ ace, Jose Fernandez. The game was later sealed by a Yoenis Cespedes walk-off homer in the 10th inning.
With the carousel continuing to spin, Montero was just the latest in arms that have come through in a pinch while this rotation has endured injuries and fatigue.
It now comes full circle with Verrett, who started this trend way back in April. Verrett made one start since going back to Las Vegas, throwing six innings while allowing two runs against Salt Lake.
Getting back to Montero, it was a nightmare season for a pitcher who rated as a top 100 prospect in Major League Baseball prior to 2014.
After being demoted to Binghamton, Montero responded in an eight-start sample size. His walks per nine dropped from 4.5 in Las Vegas to 3.6 and he’s allowed 6.2 hits per nine innings (33 total over 47.1 innings). That earned him Monday’s spot start.
Monday saw Montero walk six batters, but overall do a very admirable job against a Marlins squad that has really struggled to score runs lately.
At 25 years old, Montero has hit a snag in his progression but if the demotion and Monday are any indication, maybe he’s just starting to really piece things together and can be an asset a little further down the line.
In the short-term, Verrett is back because Montero threw 100 pitches. Plus there’s still caution mixed with optimism that Steven Matz could return on Thursday. And Jacob deGrom is slated to rejoin the rotation on Friday.
Verrett gives the Mets an option on Tuesday night if needed, though Seth Lugo has been solid in his two starting calls.
The Mets have really had to patch things together, especially with their pitching staff, but several guys have stepped up and answered the call to keep this team in the Wild Card race through what has been a tumultuous season full of incredible highs and frustrating lows.
More from Rising Apple
This article originally appeared on 
