Rehabbing NY Mets fan-favorite Dedniel Nunez jumped an important hurdle this weekend

We could see Dedniel Nunez back as one of the players to fill a vacant New York Mets roster spot once the trade deadline passes and a few seats on the team bus have opened. Nunez had Tommy John surgery last July, prematurely ending a run to improve upon the 4.66 ERA he had in a limited 9.2 innings for the Mets.

Nunez has been quietly pitching his way back, recently making a strong appearance with some worthwhile information that doesn’t appear in the box score.

Numberswise, the results have been more promising in Syracuse than other stops along this journey back. A bugaboo we didn’t see in his glorious 2024 debut season hasn’t disappeared just yet.

Dedniel Nunez is working his way back to the Mets and we probably need to see him at some point this year

It’s easy to forget how good Nunez was for the 2024 Mets. A 2.31 ERA in 35 innings with a mouthwatering 12.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. What more could we have ever asked for from this non-top-prospect on only the radars of people who live and breathe Mets minor league baseball? Nunez quickly became a fan-favorite of a team with a lot to love. For a change, there was a homegrown Mets pitcher excelling in relief.

The TJ surgery was a stark reminder of the reality of this game. Nunez got brushed aside and now already 30-years-old, he has a single minor league option remaining which offers a very short leash.

Focusing on the Syracuse results where the competition is the biggest and the performance has been most recent, Nunez has gone 7 innings and pitched to a 3.86 ERA. He jumped over an important hurdle this past weekend, throwing an inning each on Saturday and Sunday. The results were good, too. A scoreless inning with a hit, a walk, and 3 strikeouts should have the Mets confident about him as long as he wakes up feeling fine. Although it was only 23 pitches combined in the game, warm-up tosses shouldn’t be completely ignored.

It hasn’t been completely rosy in Triple-A with Nunez walking 5 in his 7 innings with only 6 strikeouts. Results like those shouldn’t matter a whole lot for the idea to put him back on the major league roster. He is practically assured to see action in August and September when the Mets embrace their fact-finding mission in regards to who can help them next year. Saving that final minor league option will be imperative to giving Nunez his most value as they surely wouldn’t want to give up on him fresh off of major surgery.

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