Mets waiting to activate Drew Smith from IL with bullpen taxed
Drew Smith will not be activated from the injured list for Tuesday afternoon's game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters before Monday's series opener that there was a good chance Smith would be back with the club for the contest, however, it appears those plans have changed.
"Not today," the skipper said Tuesday. "Where we're at bullpen-wise we need length out of a few guys there and we don't want to push Drew coming off an injury, so we're going to wait another day."
The Mets are likely without two of their top backend relievers, Adam Ottavino and Edwin Diaz, for the matinee matchup, as they've both thrown each of the past two days.
While Smith isn't back just yet as the Mets look for more innings out of the bullpen, it certainly sounds like he's ready to roll and will be active for Wednesday's game in Philadelphia.
The 30-year-old's return will certainly be a welcomed one, as he's pitched extremely solid at the backend of New York's bullpen thus far this season.
Smith allowed just three runs while striking out 11 across his first 10 appearances of the year.
