Mets reliever Dedniel Nunez will miss the remainder of the 2024 season with a flexor muscle injury, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The right-hander received a platelet-rich plasma injection today to avoid surgery, but he won’t have enough time to return to the field in 2024.

Until recently, the Mets were optimistic they would have Núñez back before the end of the regular season. Earlier this month, DiComo reported that Núñez would be able to “get back up to speed quickly” once he was back on the mound, and the Mets didn’t even plan to send him for further testing. Just last Monday, Tim Britton of The Athletic wrote that Núñez had been “improving recently” and said the Mets were confident he could begin a throwing program soon. Needless to say, that’s no longer the case.

The 28-year-old Núñez had a phenomenal debut season in Queens. From his MLB debut on April 9 to his final appearance on August 24, he threw 35 innings with a 2.31 ERA and a 2.13 SIERA. He started as an inconsistent, low-impact reliever but quickly became one of Mendoza’s most reliable pitchers. Unfortunately, the right-hander landed on the injured list in late July with a pronator strain, and after returning for one appearance in late August, his forearm problems returned. The team has not announced a timetable for his return this time, but hopefully, barring surgery, he will be ready to play next spring.

Fortunately for the Mets, their relief corps remains a strength, even in Núñez’s absence. Since the trade deadline, the Mets rank eighth in baseball with a bullpen ERA of 3.28. Edwin Diaz, Reed Garrett, Phil MatonAnd Danielle Young all had an ERA of less than 3.00 during this time. José Butto hasn’t been quite as good lately, but he has an ERA of 2.70 this year. Meanwhile, the veteran Adam Ottavino has strong numbers in his 14th major league season; his 3.18 SIERA is more than a point better than his 4.29 ERA this season. The Mets have won eight of their last 10 games and 19 of their last 30, but they’ll still need every advantage they can get as they try to keep the Braves at bay in the wild card race. An effective bullpen will be critical down the stretch and potentially into October.