Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Blackburn (knee) has been scratched from his scheduled rehab start Wednesday at High-A Brooklyn due to a stomach bug, Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News reports.
Blackburn began a rehab assignment with Brooklyn on Saturday, allowing one run over two innings. He threw 38 pitches in that outing and had been set to get stretched out more Wednesday, but the righty's next start will be put on hold. Mendoza has said previously that he would like Blackburn to get his pitch count up to the 65-to-70 range before being activated, so he will likely need at least a couple more rehab starts.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Closing in on rehab assignment
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Blackburn (knee) is scheduled to throw two innings in a live batting practice session Tuesday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.
Blackburn checked out fine after throwing a one-inning live BP session in Brooklyn on Friday, prompting the Mets to clear him to repeat the activity while increasing his pitch count. If all goes well Tuesday, Blackburn will then head out on a minor-league rehab assignment. Manager Carlos Mendoza said that the goal is to have Blackburn build up to around 65-to-70 pitches before coming off the 15-day injured list, so the right-hander will likely be in line for at least two starts on the farm.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Goes on IL with knee injury
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Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Wednesday that Blackburn will be placed on the 15-day injured list due to right knee inflammation, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Blackburn's surgically repaired back held up fine this spring, but he'll be shelved to begin the season with a different injury. The right-hander will be shut down for 7-to-10 days but is expected back before the end of April. Blackburn had been slated for a long-relief role before the injury.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Still in rotation mix
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Blackburn gave up three runs on five hits and two walks over 2.1 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals. He failed to strike out a batter.
While his final line was sketchy, Blackburn blanked the Nats through two innings before running out of gas in the third and serving up homers to CJ Abrams and James Wood. The right-hander appears to be on the outside looking in for a spot on the Opening Day rotation even with Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat) sidelined to begin the season, but with the Mets planning to deploy a six-man rotation somewhat liberally in 2025, Blackburn should get starting opportunities over the summer.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Bumpy outing Sunday
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Blackburn gave up four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks over 1.1 innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox. He failed to strike out a batter.
After tossing a scoreless inning in his spring debut last week, Blackburn ran into trouble against a Boston lineup that featured most of its likely Opening Day starters. The 31-year-old right-hander is competing in camp for a spot at the back of the Mets' injury-plagued rotation, but Blackburn will need better performances than this to climb over Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning on the depth chart.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Cleared for spring debut
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Blackburn (back) is scheduled to start Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Blackburn will most likely be limited to one or two innings in his spring debut as he attempts to make his case for a spot in the Mets' Opening Day rotation. With Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat) both expected to begin the season on the injured list, the Mets should have at least two spots available at the back of the rotation for Blackburn, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning. All three could end up breaking camp in starting roles if the Mets opt to go with a six-man rotation, something that president of baseball operations David Stearns said over the winter that he was expecting the team to implement in 2025.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Throwing to hitters
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Blackburn (back) threw one inning of live batting practice Tuesday, Andrew Tredinnick of NorthJersey.com reports.
Blackburn worked with the Mets this offseason to refine his sinker and sweeper with the goal of adding more run to his sinker and more horizontal movement to his sweeper to make it less of a slurve. He got off to a rough start with the Mets after getting traded from the A's last season, including a hand contusion and a spinal fluid leak in mid-September that ended his season. He had surgery Oct. 11 that came with a three-to-five month estimated recovery, and we'll be at five months in mid-March. Blackburn is understandably a little behind the likes of Tylor Megill, who is reportedly furthest along of Blackburn and Griffin Canning, all of whom are competing for the final two spots in the Mets' six-man rotation.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Slightly behind competition
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Blackburn (back) is a little behind the Mets' other rotation options at the start of spring training, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.
This is no real surprise, as Blackburn underwent spinal surgery in October. The 31-year-old right-hander made only five starts for the Mets in 2024 after being acquired from the A's, stumbling to a 5.18 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 21:7 K:BB in 24.1 innings, and he's never thrown more than 111.1 innings in a big-league season. If he demonstrates he's fully recovered from the surgery and back to his pre-injury form, Blackburn should compete for the No. 6 starter role alongside Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Avoids arbitration
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The Mets and Blackburn (back) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract Thursday.
Blackburn was eligible for arbitration for the third and final time. The veteran right-hander is recovering from back surgery but is expected to be ready for Opening Day. However, it appears unlikely at this juncture that there will be room for him in the Mets' rotation.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Moved to 60-day IL
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Blackburn (back) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Saturday, per MLB's transaction log.
Blackburn was placed on the 15-day injured list in late August due to a hand injury. He subsequently suffered a back issue and was diagnosed with a spinal fluid leak in mid-September. Blackburn's move to the 60-day IL officially ends his 2024 season. The transaction also clears way on the Mets' 40-man roster for Kodai Senga, who was activated from the 60-day IL in a corresponding move and is set to start Game 1 of the NLDS against the Phillies.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Hopes to return next week
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Blackburn (back) will play catch Wednesday and hopes to return from the 15-day injured list as soon as the middle of next week, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
Blackburn is dealing with a spinal fluid leak but is feeling better after being given about 10 platelet-rich plasma injections. The right-hander hasn't pitched in two weeks, and the layoff, combined with how well the members of New York's rotation are currently pitching, means that Blackburn would likely return as a reliever once he's activated.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Diagnosed with spinal fluid leak
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President of baseball operations David Stearns said Saturday that Blackburn has a spinal fluid leak in his back, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
The Mets aren't sure exactly how Blackburn suffered the injury, but the team is shutting him down for the time being. Stearns noted that the right-hander's injury isn't expected to be a long-term issue, though there's no telling how long he will be held out.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Out through this weekend
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Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday that Blackburn (hand/back) isn't feeling much better and won't be activated from the 15-day injured list to pitch against the Phillies this weekend, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
The 30-year-old was scheduled to start Monday against the Blue Jays after missing a couple weeks due to a bruised hand, but he ended up being scratched due to back discomfort. It's unclear when Blackburn will be able to return from the IL at this point, but he'll be sidelined for at least another week.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: No longer starting Monday
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Blackburn (hand) is no longer in line to be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Monday's game in Toronto, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
The Mets will give a spot start to Tylor Megill instead. Blackburn could be pushed back a day to start Tuesday in Toronto, though the team has not yet confirmed as much. He has missed the last two weeks with a right hand bruise but tossed 6.2 innings of one-run ball in a rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse last week.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Dealing with bruised hand
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Blackburn was diagnosed with a right hand contusion after getting hit by a comebacker during Friday's game against San Diego.
Blackburn appears to have avoided a significant injury, but he's scheduled to undergo further testing Saturday. Once the results of those tests come back, a clearer picture will emerge regarding his status for his next start -- tentatively scheduled to come Thursday in Arizona. Blackburn has a 5.18 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 21:7 K:BB through 24.1 innings since joining the Mets.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Hit in hand, exits game
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Blackburn was removed from his start Friday against the Padres after getting hit by a comebacker, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Blackburn took a 100-mph line drive off his right (pitching) hand in the third inning. He'll presumably head in for imaging to determine if he suffered any structural damage, and his status for his next scheduled start against the Diamondbacks is uncertain. Before being pulled, the 30-year-old surrendered five earned runs on 10 hits while striking out one batter over 2.1 innings.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Fires six strong innings
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Blackburn pitched six innings of one-run ball in Sunday's loss to the Marlins, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. He did not factor into the decision.
Coming off a brutal outing where he allowed six runs and took the loss against the Athletics, Blackburn fared much better Sunday, yielding just one run on a Nick Fortes sacrifice fly in the third inning. Blackburn turned in his seventh quality start of the season and now has three quality starts in four outings since being acquired by the Mets at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old owns a 3.68 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 20:7 K:BB in 22 innings with his new club. He is currently lined up to face the Padres next weekend.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Altered pitch mix with new team
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Blackburn has thrown his cutter and changeup more, at the expense of his four-seam fastball and curveball, since joining the Mets, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
While the Mets' coaching staff didn't explicitly tell the right-hander to drop the curve and four-seamer from his arsenal, they did encourage Blackburn to lean more on the pitches that graded out the best. "I know my cutter is one of my better, if not my best pitch, analytically," Blackburn said. "I'm just kind of taking that and running with it. Really just using my best pitch as much as possible... There were times earlier this year where I did get beat on some fastballs, and after the fact, it's like 'What am I doing? Throwing my fourth- or fifth-best pitch?' " Blackburn has been a strong addition to the Mets' rotation since being acquired at the trade deadline, delivering back-to-back quality starts -- including one at Coors Field -- with a 12:4 K:BB in 12 innings.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Set for team debut Friday
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Blackburn is scheduled to make his first start for the Mets on Friday against the Angels in Anaheim, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
Blackburn has yet to be officially added to the Mets' 26-man active roster after being acquired via trade from the Athletics on Tuesday, but that will happen this weekend. The right-hander has been limited to just nine starts this season because of a foot injury but has been decent when healthy, holding a 4.41 ERA and 38:14 K:BB over 51 innings. With Blackburn joining the rotation, the Mets will send No. 5 starter Tylor Megill to the bullpen, at least temporarily.
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Mets' Paul Blackburn: Heading to playoff contender
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The Mets acquired Blackburn from the Athletics on Tuesday in exchange for right-hander Kade Morris, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
The Mets have been on the lookout for rotation reinforcements and have found one in Blackburn. The right-hander returned this past Friday from a stint on the 60-day injured list due to a stress reaction in his right foot, allowing four runs over five innings in his first start back with Oakland. Overall, Blackburn has posted a 4.41 ERA and 38:14 K:BB across 51 frames covering nine starts in 2024. He'll be under team control through 2025.
