3 injured NY Mets players we never expected to miss this much

2. Max Kranick- RP, NY Mets

It always stinks to see anything bad happen to Kranick. It's hard for a Mets fan not to love him. After all, he grew up one of us.

But after a pleasantly surprising first few months that saw Kranick put up a .365 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 37 innings, he began to speak of elbow soreness. All things considered, the Mets should just be happy that it's a mere flexor strain. This is a guy who's had nearly two seasons of his career stripped from him due to Tommy John surgery.

The silver lining here is that Kranick is not expected to miss the remainder of the season. Unlike Canning, the righty should be back on the bump before the leaves fully turn.

He isn't expected to return any sooner than August, though, which is not good for a team starving for some quality innings out of the bullpen. Kranick has proven to be a guy who can eat up multiple innings, something the Mets are desperate for right now. The hope is that he'll be back for the home stretch later in the Summer. But who expected to be waiting on pins and needles for the return of Max Kranick? Not me.