Right-handed Dedniel Nunez According to multiple metropolitan defeat writers, Will undergoes surgery by Tommy John. Nunez was placed on an IL for 15 days on July 3 with a sprain of his right elbow and said the surgery was possible. Subsequent tests confirmed that Nunez will have to take control of the knife and now he will miss the rest of the 2025 season and the entire 2026 campaign.
It will be the second Tommy John process of Nunez’s career, who spent Nunez throughout the 2021 season and (combined with the cancelled minor league season) led to nearly three years of the right-hander’s game. The surgery was performed during a brief time with the Giants, San Francisco chose Nunez to evacuate from the Mets in the 2020 Rule 5 draft, but was returned to New York after the 2021 campaign while Nunez was still in recovery.
After finally returning to the mound in 2022, Nunez’s high three-point shooting percentage caught some attention, earning his first MLB look in 2024, when he released a 2.31 ERA in his first 35 major league innings. Adding to a 35.5% strikeout rate and a 5.9% walk rate, Nunez turned a lot of heads in his rookie year, and he suddenly appeared in the bullpen in New York, one of the many factors that led the Mets to run in the last four months of the season. Unfortunately for Nunez, forearm issues shortened his involvement in the playoff game as he only pitched once after July 23.
Nunez is not as effective as his ERA 4.66 this season, with a walking rate of 14.6% in 9 2/3 innings, while his strikeout rate dropped to (still solid) 26.8%. Although the opposing batsman has only 0.217 BABIP against Nunez, he has been allowing a lot of tough contact, so even the relatively few balls hitting the ball can cause significant damage in his small game time size. His three-a numbers are also pretty volatile, and to be fair to wonder if Nunez was in trouble last year, his current elbow problem has led to a lack of production.
Tommy John Rehab’s usual 13-15-month period means if Nunez encounters any setbacks in the recovery process until the opening in 2027. Given that this is his second TJ operation, Nunez’s recovery measures may be more likely to be within the time frame. Nunez will continue to collect MLB service hours on the Metropolitan injured list, although that’s small, as the 29-year-old is facing another extended career leave.
The Mets don’t necessarily view Nunez as a high-lever arm, but his absence has moved the other arm away from the injured pitcher. New York is expected to have a major goal rotation and bullpen help ahead of the trade deadline and may require multiple new shots to help the Mets turn their slides in the final month of the game.
