Hansel’s latest regretel: Demotion
Hansel Robles was unhappy last week when reporters asked him about getting rocked by the Diamondbacks. The right-handed reliever was perturbed that no one wanted to talk to him about the 14 scoreless innings he pitched earlier this season.
Now Robles has to be really unhappy.
On Tuesday, the Mets sent the 26-year-old to Triple-A Las Vegas and called up lefty reliever Josh Smoker to take his place.
“(Robles) has been here long enough now that we should start to see better command, certainly with his slider or his fastball,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He’s got to start making some pitches. Just like the other day in Arizona (May 15), when he gave up the home run(s), this guy threw 99, 98. The velocity’s there. It’s just that he’s not locating his pitches. Sometimes it can be a mental focus that you’re losing — maybe all the sudden where you don’t trust your stuff as much, so you’re trying to aim the ball rather than just throw it. You look at his numbers against left-handed hitters (2-for21, .095), they’re pretty good. But righties (19-for-60, .317) are killing him.”
“When (Robles) was going through his good streak (14 scoreless innings from mid-April to May 10), he was locating everything,” added Collins. “He was locating his slider, he was locating his fastball on both sides of the plate. And right now he’s doing neither.”
Not only was Robles shelled by the Diamondbacks, giving up five runs (including two home runs) in two-thirds of an inning, he was pounded in his last three appearances. He gave up 12 earned runs over 2.2 innings. He was repeatedly told to quicken his delivery to the plate, to work on commanding his fastball down and away to right-handed hitters. Robles, however, did not seem to think he was in need of work. He had walked away from reporters in Phoenix mumbling in Spanish about his 14 scoreless innings last week. Robles is 4-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 21 games with the Mets this season.
Smoker, who allowed one home run in one inning Tuesday night, had been demoted last month with the hope he would find better command of his breaking ball.
GOT YO? NOT YET
Yoenis Cespedes (left hamstring strain) is not expected to return from the disabled list this week. The Cuban slugger is still doing a running program in Port St. Lucie and he has gotten at-bats in extended spring training, but the Mets are insisting that the outfielder complete a minor-league rehab assignment to test the hamstring. The club also wants to see Cespedes play defense. Cespedes has been on the disabled list since April 28.
BACK IT UP
Jay Bruce left Tuesday night’s game after the fifth inning with what the team announced as “back tightness.” The right fielder said his left lower back had been tight all day and he could not get loose. Bruce, however, said he was hopeful that this is just a day-to-day issue . ... Catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Tuesday night for Triple-A Las Vegas, is very close to returning. The Mets were expecting to talk to d’Arnaud after the game and see if he felt ready to return. D’Arnaud has been on the DL with a bruised right wrist since May 3.