Paul Blackburn DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

New York Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn (knee) will start the 2025 season on the 15-day injured list with right-knee inflammation, according to New York Daily News' Abbey Mastracco. The Mets acquired Blackburn from the Athletics in a trade last year, but he made only five starts in New York before being shut down with a back injury that required surgery. The 31-year-old veteran's back is fine, but now he's dealing with a knee injury and isn't ready for Opening Day. The good news is that he's expected to be back before the end of April, but Blackburn will likely be relegated to a long-relief role out of the bullpen, leaving him virtually zero fantasy appeal. Blackburn also dealt with foot and hand injuries in 2024 and made just 14 starts combined, going 5-4 with a 4.66 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 59 strikeouts and 21 walks in 75 1/3 innings. He's off the fantasy radar in most leagues.

New York Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn (back) threw to hitters for one inning in a live batting practice session at camp on Tuesday. "I feel like I'm in a good spot right now," Blackburn said. "Just excited to be here, just trying to go day by day, not try to do too much and just slowly progress into the start." The 31-year-old veteran's 2024 season ended early due to a spinal fluid leak that required surgery on Oct. 11, but he's back to throwing now and is working with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to refine his sinker and sweeper in order to add more run to his sinker and more horizontal movement to his sweeper. Blackburn is competing for a rotation spot with Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning after being limited to 14 starts in 2024 due to injury. Because he's a bit behind in camp, both Megill and Canning figure to be ahead of Blackburn in the rotation competition.

New York Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn (back), who required surgery in October of last year to fix a leak around his spinal cord, is a little bit behind the rest of the team's pitching at the start of spring training, according to The Athletic's Will Sammon and Tim Britton. Blackburn will be competing primarily with Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill for the sixth and final spot in New York's starting rotation to begin the year. Canning and Blackburn have the advantage over Megill because they don't have any minor-league options remaining, but Blackburn's back injury could hurt his chances. The 31-year-old make only five starts for the Mets in the second half after they acquired him from the A's at the trade deadline, and he stumbled to a 5.18 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 24 1/3 innings. Blackburn has never thrown more than 111 1/3 innings in the big leagues and could be a piggyback option even if he wins a rotation spot.