The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Mets put Cabrera on disabled list
PHOENIX >> The scrambling New York Mets put shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday and added reliever Neil Ramirez to their battered bullpen.
Cabrera went on the DL retroactive to Sunday. He is sidelined with a sprained left thumb.
Ramirez signed a major league contract and joined his third big league team this month. He was expected to be available for Tuesday night’s game at Arizona.
“Looks like he’s got a good arm and some experience, so we certainly are in need of a guy that can come out of the bullpen,” manager Terry Collins said.
New York had lost five in a row going into Tuesday night. The relief corps had given up seven homers and compiled a 13.80 ERA over 15 innings during that stretch.
Collins said his conversations with pitching coach Dan Warthen of late regarding his staff have been “ugly.”
“We throw out a lot of stuff, and ultimately they’ve got to make pitches,” Collins said. “That’s what it’s all about. We’ve had situations where we’ve tried to hand out instructions on how to go about things, and it’s got to get executed.”
Ramirez, who turns 28 next week, had an 8.71 ERA in nine games for San Francisco this season, striking out 18 in 10 1/3 innings.
The right-hander was cut by the Giants and signed by Toronto on May 5. He didn’t pitch for the Blue Jays and was released four days later. Last year, Ramirez played for the Cubs, Brewers and Twins.
As a rookie in 2014, Ramirez pitched in 50 games for the Cubs, going 3-3 with three saves and a 1.44 ERA. He has held right-handed hitters to a .218 batting average during his career.
To make room for Ramirez on the 40-man roster, the Mets transferred closer Jeurys Familia to the 60-day DL. He is expected to return to the team late this season after having surgery last week for a blocked artery near his right armpit.