New York Mets DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

The New York Mets placed catcher Luis Torrens on the paternity list on Friday and recalled catcher Joe Hudson from the minors in a corresponding move. Torrens will now be away from the team for the next one to three days, so Hudson will serve as the team's backup behind Francisco Alvarez over the weekend. The 28-year-old Venezuelan took over the backup duties from Tomas Nido this year and has only played in nine games in the Big Apple this year, going 8-for-24 (.333) with three home runs and five RBI in 26 plate appearances. He'll only become relevant in two-catcher leagues if Alvarez misses more time with an injury. In his seven years in the big leagues, Torrens has slashed .230/.292/.366 with 22 homers and 84 RBI.

New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil will take a seat on the bench on Friday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field with left-hander Shota Imanaga on the mound. Given McNeil's struggles this year, he's now fallen into the strong side of a platoon at the keystone in New York with veteran Jose Iglesias, who is at second and batting eighth on Friday against Imanaga. McNeil is hitting just .219/.286/.305 with three home runs, 15 RBI, three stolen bases and 27 runs scored in 233 at-bats in 2024. He's actually been better against left-handers, going 18-for-72 (.250) against them with one of his three home runs, while he's batting .205 against right-handers. The two-time All-Star has taken a hard fall this year after winning a batting title in 2022 with the Mets.

Oakland Athletics right-hander Paul Blackburn (foot) was scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Thursday, June 20, but there is still no timetable to return. This was the first time that Blackburn has thrown off a mound since being put on the injured list on May 13 with a right-foot stress reaction. The fact that there's still no timetable for his return means that fantasy managers in deeper leagues shouldn't expect him to return to Oakland's starting rotation until after the All-Star break in mid-July. The 30-year-old is going to need to throw multiple bullpens before facing live hitters and then going on a minor-league rehab assignment. Barring a setback, the former 56th overall pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2012 should be back before both Ross Stripling (elbow) and Alex Wood (shoulder). In eight starts (46 innings) before his injury, Blackburn had a 4.11 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 36 K's.

New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga (shoulder, triceps) threw a successful bullpen session on Wednesday, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. Senga has been sidelined since spring training with shoulder and triceps injuries, but if all goes well, the 31-year-old Japanese hurler could move to facing live hitters sometime early next week. He was excellent in his rookie year in 2023 and was the team's most consistent pitcher, leading the Mets in wins (12), strikeouts (202), innings (166 1/3) and starts (29), and he also had an ERA just under 3.00. It's why he deserves to remain stashed in all fantasy formats despite the fact he's yet to pitch in 2024. The Mets aren't rushing their ace back, though, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to be ready to join the rotation until the second half of the season.

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso has been off to an extremely slow start to the season. However, the right-handed slugger was able to find a spark during Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres. Alonso went 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI during the blowout win. This five-RBI performance matched his total amount of runs driven in coming into that contest. Fantasy managers are hopeful that this is a sign of Alonso finally getting back on track.