Mets summon Tovar, Muno to Arizona

Due to Daniel Murphy‘s left quad injury, the Mets have summoned both Wilfredo Tovar and Danny Muno to Arizona in case a roster move is needed.

Muno had one hit in 15 at bats earlier this season for the Mets. Both he and Tovar are on the 40-man roster.

Murphy left Thursday night’s game against the Diamondbacks in the third inning due to tightness in his left quad, and said after the game that he would be going for an MRI on Friday.

If Murphy is placed on the disabled list, the Mets will be able to recall Muno as an injury replacement. In any other circumstance, Muno, who was sent down less than 10 days ago, would not be able to come back up to the majors.

If Murphy is not placed on the disabled list, the only immediate move the Mets can make is to activate Tovar while removing another player from the roster.

Thoughts:

Here’s what I believe the Mets will do…

If Murphy winds up on the disabled list, Muno will be promoted and either he or Eric Campbell will start at third base until Dilson Herrera returns from the disabled list — perhaps this coming Tuesday.

If Murphy avoids the disabled list, Tovar will be added to fortify the bench, and Jack Leathersich will be demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room on the roster.

The Mets could’ve called on Matt Reynolds and opted to shift Ruben Tejada back to third base, but that wouldn’t make much sense with Herrera perhaps returning after just three more games. Adding Reynolds would require a 40-man roster move, but the Mets would’ve been able to get him on the roster by simply transferring either Jerry Blevins or David Wright to the 60-day disabled list. As it pertains to Reynolds, though, he’s hitting just .275/.332/.408 in the hitter-friendly PCL. If Reynolds was tearing it up, he would’ve likely gotten the call.

With all the machinations and possibilities ahead for the Mets, it’s important to circle back to the main issue. With David Wright out indefinitely, losing Murphy is something they really can’t afford at the moment. But it’s something that appears to be happening — at least for the near future.

In five days, when both Travis d’Arnaud and Dilson Herrera are likely back, the team will get a needed jolt of offense. Until then, however, the Mets will be trotting out a weaker lineup than the one they’ve had over the last month.