Mets’ Lugo has UCL tear, will miss time

Mets pitcher Seth Lugo has a small tear of the UCL in his right elbow, sources told Marc Carig of Newsday on Tuesday.

Lugo’s injury does not require Tommy John surgery, but Carig was told that Lugo is expected to be out “a significant amount” of time to recover from the injury. Lugo started the process Tuesday morning by receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection following a second opinion on the injury.

Lugo’s injury, though, makes the the Mets’ pitching staff even thinner after having to put starter Steven Matz on the disabled list before the season started with a strained flexor tendon in his left elbow. He is also the fifth injured player on the Mets, joining Matz, third baseman David Wright and outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Juan Lagares.

Lugo went 5-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 17 appearances, including eight starts, in the final three months of last season. This spring, he spent most of his time playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. He went 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP in 15 innings, with his only loss coming to the U.S. in the championship game.

Lugo brought up concerns of arm fatigue at the end of camp, but didn’t feel it was a problem until now. Now, it puts the Mets in a position where they may have to look to add pitching depth since they have Rafael Montero already in the bullpen and only have Sean Gilmartin and Adam Wilk in Triple-A.