Another closer has fallen: Bobby Parnell diagnosed with partial tear in elbow
On Monday, New York Mets closer Bobby Parnell coughed up two hits, one walk and an earned run in an eventual loss to the Nationals. His velocity was notably poor by his standards.
On Tuesday, we learned the reason for Parnell's struggles. After he complained of forearm tightness, an MRI revealed a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right elbow. So that's terrible news. Parnell received a platelet-rich plasma injection, and he'll reportedly rest for two weeks before a determination is made about the need for surgery.
[Baseball 2014 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]
Jose Valverde is suddenly a viable fantasy add, which is not something I'd expected to write ever again.
Valverde pitched in a set-up role on Monday, striking out three of the four batters he faced, throwing 13 of his 16 pitches for strikes. Of course Papa Grande is also a 36-year-old who hasn't exactly been lights-out in recent seasons. He's a sketchy interim closer, no doubt.
But Valverde is the presumptive favorite for saves in the Mets' bullpen at the moment, so he deserves to be picked up in pretty much any league. (Sorry. I wish the adds were better. You think I like recommending Valverde? I take no special pride in this post.) If/when Valverde implodes, I'd expect the Mets to deal. The team's in-house options aren't really the best (Jeurys Familia, Vic Black).
Some of you are probably in 2010 mode right now, rolling with Valverde, K-Rod and Matt Lindstrom. I wish you well, saves chasers. The responsible play with any of those dudes is to take 'em to the trade block, immediately.
