Pedro Beato To DL with Elbow Injury

In case you missed it, the Mets’ best reliever thus far — Pedro Beato — has been placed on the 15-day DL with elbow tendinitis.

I am not going to panic over this; it’s likely just a case of mild epicondylitis — either “lateral” (tennis elbow) or “medial” (golfer’s elbow). It is an overuse injury, which can be caused by any number of things; for example, it can be caused by throwing from a too-low elbow angle (i.e., below the shoulder); from throwing too many breaking pitches (or throwing them incorrectly); from not warming up enough before throwing; from weakness in the hands and forearm; or something else. My guess is that Beato’s three-inning stint from a few nights ago had something to do with it, since it was the longest outing he’s had thus far. Though I wouldn’t necessarily say that the Mets did something wrong — it could have been due to Beato not getting enough of a warmup between innings. Or, it could have been something that was going to happen eventually, and was accelerated by the long appearance.

Beato will have two weeks to rest and ice up. I imagine he’ll also do some forearm- and finger-strengthening exercises, such as squeezing a rubber ball, wrist curls, working the hand in a bucket of rice, and similar. If you are a pitcher and want to avoid elbow tendinitis, you should include these exercises as a preventative measure.

To take Beato’s place on the roster, the Mets have called up LOOGY Mike O’Connor.