The New York Mets are bolstering their bullpen.
On Thursday's off day, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported that the Mets are calling up right-handed reliever Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Syracuse to join the team on Friday for their series at Citizens Bank Park against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Nittoli has thrown three straight scoreless appearances for Syracuse, and is on the Mets' 40-man roster already.
Earlier in the month, the Mets acquired Nittoli from the Chicago Cubs in a trade.
Nittoli, 32, has a 3.81 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 26 innings in the minor leagues this season. Last year, he threw two scoreless innings in the major leagues for the Phillies.
Nittoli spent the majority of last season in the New York Yankees organization, but never received a call-up to the big-leagues.
The Mets' bullpen currently holds a 4.21 ERA, which is ranked 20th in all of baseball.
While the backend of the Mets' 'pen has been solid, despite losing elite closer Edwin Diaz for the season, the team has struggled in middle relief.
The Mets' starting rotation has also struggled to go deep into games, which has forced manager Buck Showalter to go to his bullpen early on.
The hope is that the addition of Nittoli will help provide stability in the middle innings for the Mets.
The Mets are a season-worst 34-40 after losing two out of three to the Houston Astros. They now head into Philadelphia this weekend to take on a red-hot Phillies team that is 13-3 in their last 16 games.
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