NEW YORK -- The Mets placed right-handers Paul Blackburn and Dedniel Nunez on the 15-day injured list Thursday, dealing two more blows to the club's reeling pitching staff.
The team also optioned right-hander Blade Tidwell to Triple-A Syracuse, while right-handers Justin Hagenman, Rico Garcia and Austin Warren were called up from Syracuse to replace the three pitchers.
Blackburn, 31, is nursing a shoulder impingement. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza described Blackburn's prognosis as "relatively good news." For now, Blackburn, who posted a 7.71 ERA in six outings after making his season debut last month, will not throw for three to five days before working his way back.
For Nunez, the prognosis isn't as rosy. He has a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, which could require Tommy John surgery. He is scheduled to see doctors for more opinions before deciding whether to undergo the season-ending procedure.
Nunez emerged as a reliable reliever as a 28-year-old rookie last season, recording a 2.31 ERA in 25 appearances. But a forearm injury surfaced, sidelining him for most of the second half and slowing his readiness for the majors in 2025.
Nunez, who has a 4.66 ERA in 10 appearances this season, reported discomfort after logging two-thirds of an inning Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.
"This one's a little gut-wrenching because this is a guy who has worked incredibly hard to get back to this point," Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. "And for him to feel what he did [Wednesday] night and have to go through this again, it's tough."
Mets officials began the season lauding their pitching depth after choosing not to shop for high-end pitching talent in free agency. For 2½ months, the staff boasted the best ERA in the majors, and the Mets rode the group to the best record in baseball through June 12. But it has been a disaster since.
With the additions of Blackburn and Nunez, the Mets' injured list swelled to 12 pitchers -- six starters and six relievers. Six of those pitchers -- four starters and two relievers -- have been shelved since June 12. The Mets entered Thursday with a 4-13 record since that date.
"It's happened rapidly," Stearns said. "Nothing shocks me, but, yeah, it's happened fast. And we have to react and adjust, and no one's going to feel sorry for us."
The downturn began with Kodai Senga straining his hamstring covering first base. Two days later, Tylor Megill landed on the injured list with a sprained elbow. Last week, Griffin Canning ruptured his Achilles stepping off the mound. He underwent surgery for the season-ending injury the next day.
Clay Holmes and David Peterson are the only members of the Mets' Opening Day rotation not on the injured list. Frankie Montas, who has made two starts this season after dealing with a lat injury, is the Mets' only other healthy starting pitcher. As a result, the Mets don't have a listed starter for two of their three games in the Subway Series against the Yankees this weekend.
One possibility is calling up one of their top pitching prospects from Triple-A Syracuse -- Brandon Sproat or Nolan McLean -- to fill a hole, but Stearns said his preference is not to have one of them make a spot start.
"We'll get through it," Stearns said. "I do think we have options to get through this, and this is more of a short-term need than a longer-term need."
Shortly after he spoke, Stearns added bullpen depth by signing right-handed reliever Zach Pop to a major league contract, a source told ESPN. But the Mets are counting on the successful impending returns of Senga and Sean Manaea, two veterans who were projected to be the team's top two starting pitchers this season, to weather this storm.
Senga, who suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain covering first base June 12, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Saturday or Sunday, Mendoza said Thursday. Mendoza added that Senga could return before the All-Star break, signaling that he might need one rehab start before rejoining the Mets' rotation.
Senga was one of baseball's best pitchers before the injury, registering a 1.47 ERA in 73⅔ innings across 13 starts. But injuries have hampered his brief major league career. After posting a 2.98 ERA as a 30-year-old rookie in 2023, shoulder and calf injuries limited Senga to one regular-season start.
Manaea, meanwhile, has not thrown a pitch for the Mets this season after suffering an oblique injury in February, experiencing a setback in March and getting diagnosed with a loose body in his left elbow after a rehab start in late June, which further pushed back his return.
The left-hander threw 60 pitches over three-plus innings in a rehab start for Double-A Binghamton on Wednesday. Mendoza said he is slated for one more rehab start Tuesday before possibly making his season debut in the Mets' final game before the All-Star break July 13.