Mets' Vargas has broken bone in non-pitching hand
New York Mets pitcher Jason Vargas will see a specialist on Sunday after breaking a bone in his non-pitching hand on Friday the team announced.
Vargas was injured during a minor league game when he attempted to field a line drive.
A CT scan on Saturday showed a non-displaced fracture of the hamate bone in his right hand.
"I don't really have a level of concern as long as I am able to keep doing stuff," said Vargas, per the New York Daily News. "I have to speak with the specialist (today or) tomorrow to get the for sures, the facts and all the different options,"
The left-hander joined the Mets on a two-year, $16 million deal, with a club option for 2020.
The team isn't giving up hope he'll be ready when the season starts.
"We have some days to work with him because he was going to pitch on an extra day of rest anyway," manager Mickey Callaway said. "We just have to get him ready for the fifth place in the rotation but the good thing is we have an off day after Opening Day so we have some wiggle room there."
Vargas, 35, went 18-11 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts last year for the Kansas City Royals after missing most of the previous two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was an 2017 American League All-Star selection after going 12-3 with a 2.62 ERA in the first half.
Following the break, he struggled, going 6-8 with an ugly 6.38 ERA in 15 starts.
Vargas joins a rotation that features plenty of talent but lots of health concerns: Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler.
Vargas, who also missed the 2008 season with a torn hip labrum, is 85-81 with a 4.17 ERA in parts of 11 seasons spent with the then-Florida Marlins, the Mets, the Seattle Mariners, the Los Angeles Angels and the Royals. He appeared in just two games for the Mets in 2007, going 0-1 with a 12.19 ERA.
--Field Level Media
