Mets may receive huge bullpen boost soon

The New York Mets could soon receive a crucial bullpen reinforcement as left-hander AJ Minter nears the end of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse. The 32-year-old is expected to pitch one more game for Syracuse, likely on either Saturday or Sunday, and if there are no complications, he could be activated from the injured list and make his season debut as early as next week.

Minter appeared in back-to-back games for the Syracuse Mets this week. He struck out one batter during a scoreless inning on Tuesday, then returned less than 24 hours later and allowed one run over two-thirds of an inning. The outing included one hit, one walk, and one hit batter, raising his Triple-A ERA to 2.70.

Across seven rehab appearances with Syracuse, Minter has surrendered three runs, with only two earned, on five hits and one walk while recording three strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

Syracuse defeated the Buffalo Bisons 10-5 at NBT Bank Stadium and improved to 25-21 after a four-run sixth inning created separation. Christian Arroyo led the offense with three hits and three RBIs, while Ryan Clifford hit his eighth home run of the season and drove in two runs. Cristian Pache contributed two hits and two RBIs.