Image via WikipediaDuaner Sanchez pitched the eighth inning for the New Orleans Zephyrs again tonight against the Round Rock Express. He didn’t give up any hits or walks and had one strikeout. I’m sure that the Mets will want to see how his arm feels tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll be on his way to New York for the Nationals series beginning on Tuesday.
A quick update on Duaner Sanchez’ performance: last night he pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the New Orleans Zephyrs against the Round Rock Express giving up only one walk and no hits. He’s scheduled to pitch again tonight at 7:05pm against Round Rock (jointly owned by former Met Nolan Ryan).
Image via WikipediaDuaner Sanchez is pitching tonight and tomorrow for Triple-A New Orleans in Round Rock, TX. Sanchez may return to the Mets next week if his arm responds to pitching in consecutive days. His return would be a welcome addition to the bullpen and mean a return trip to the minors for Carlos Muniz. Sanchez could reclaim the eighth inning role and move Aaron Heilman up the seventh inning.
The seventh spot in the bullpen is one of the few position battles left on the Mets roster. In all likelihood it will come down to Joe Smith or Duaner Sanchez. Marty Noble for MLB.com profiles this position battle.
It’s premature to take a side on this issue at this point. We don’t really know what Sanchez is capable of. The only thing that we do know is that he hasn’t pitched in a major league game in almost a year and a half.
Joe Smith is more of a known quantity right now. He’s had his up’s and downs this spring. Maybe the Mets could take a chance on how hot Smith was coming out of spring training last season. Although I’m not sure that translates into this season.
Sanchez hasn’t shown that he can pitch more than once a week yet. That won’t help the Mets during the regular season. He may need to get his arm back in shape in AAA.
It’s just too early to tell who will win the last spot in the bullpen. I need to see both Smith and Sanchez over the next week and a half to decide who I’d like to see there.
The Mets Report 