Top pitching prospect Jonathan Niese will be recalled from Triple-A New Orleans to make his major league debut Tuesday against Milwaukee. Eight other players also will join the Mets on Monday when the active roster can be expanded to 40 players. They include pitching prospect Robert Parnell, three relievers and infielder-outfielder Marlon Anderson, who will be activated after spending a month on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
Niese will take the rotation spot left vacant when right-hander John Maine was placed on the 15-day disabled list a week ago because of a bone spur in his right shoulder. "We think very highly of Jonathan Niese," vice president for development Tony Bernazard said Sunday. "He's a 21-year-old that we expect to be an important member of this organization.
"You have to perform at some point, and it happens to be Tuesday against a very good team. Let's see what he has. We'll find out a lot about where we're at with him in the next month." Niese was a seventh-round draft pick in 2005. The left-hander went 5-1 with a 3.40 ERA in seven starts for New Orleans.
The Mets also will bolster their shaky bullpen. Joining them Monday will be recently acquired right-hander Al Reyes from Double-A Binghamton and two pitchers from New Orleans; right-hander Carlos Muniz and left-hander Ricardo Rincon.
Closer Billy Wagner, sidelined since Aug. 3 with a strained elbow, is scheduled for a bullpen session Monday in New York. If it goes well, the next step might be for Wagner to pitch in a game for the Mets' Class A affiliate in Brooklyn."He's improving," Bernazard said. "He's feeling much better."
Also joining the Mets from New Orleans will be right-hander Bobby Parnell, infielder Ramon Martinez, catcher Gustavo Molina and infielder Argenis Reyes.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
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