Devin Williams heads to IL with shoulder strain

His one previous career save came as a 20-year-old rookie reliever for Softbank in 2013. Working with a three-run lead, Senga struck out Matt Olson and Michael Harris II and then got Mauricio Dubón to fly out after an Ozzie Albies walk. Senga’s fastball has been at 96-99 mph as a short reliever, and his secondaries are up more than his fastball is. Any success he enjoys will still come down to command, but those desperate for saves might want to give him a look while Devin Williams is out.

Pitching for the first time in five days, Williams did not have it. He nearly blew a four run lead, but was bailed out by a critical outfield assist from Brett Baty and beautiful sliding play by Marcus Semien to end this game. Otherwise, he showed poor command the Pirates were teeing off on him. He dealt with a bout of arm fatigue earlier this according to Mets brass, so it was at least nice to see him back on the mound.

The Mets rallied to tie this game in the ninth inning and after scoring one run in the 10th, Duarte rather than Devin Williams came in for the save in the 10th. It was reported after the game that Williams was unavailable with general arm fatigue and should be ready to go in the coming days, so expect this as a one-off opportunity for Duarte. Expect some chaos in this Mets’ bullpen – apart from Jefry Yan’s leaping strikeout celebrations – though if Williams’ fatigue turns into anything more serious after they shipped out four relievers and two starters at the trade deadline.

This certainly explains why Daniel Duarte got the call to close out the Guardians with a one-run lead in the 10th inning. Williams hasn’t pitched since throwing 14 pitches in a non-save situation over the weekend. Green added that they expect him to be available for Thursday’s contest, which is encouraging news for fantasy managers.

Lavender gets his chance with New York after their teardown at the trade deadline earlier this week. The 26-year-old lefty has posted a respectable 3.77 ERA and 70/16 K/BB ratio across 43 innings in the minors this season.

Senga cruised early, but hit a wall in the fifth of this one. Up until that point, he hadn’t walked a batter, threw a first-pitch strike to 11 of the 13 he faced, and only needed 33 pitches to get through four innings. That’s remarkable efficiency for anyone who’s watched Senga pitch this season. His cutter had some extra life and he was not afraid to attack hitters in the zone. Then, in that fifth inning, he walked the first two batters he faced and was pulled after a double brought a run home. Both of the runners he left on base came around to score, soiling his final line. Still, this was a fine outing all things considered, especially because Senga was thrust into action in place of Freddy Peralta as trade rumors swirl. If Senga gets another turn in the rotation, it will come next week against the Pirates.

Good news for Marlins hitters based on how this year has gone. Senga will get yet another chance to improve on his 8.85 ERA in 40 2/3 innings this year. He’s allowed 12 homers and walked 30 batters in those innings.

The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal reported earlier today that the Mets are asking teams for a top-100 prospect “and more” in their early conversations with teams about Freddy Peralta. It appears they’re close enough on terms with a team to consider scratching Peralta to make sure he can turn up to a new team injury-free. It would seem likely that a rested Kodai Senga will shoulder most of the load in a bullpen game tonight.

As always, Williams made things interesting in the ninth inning by allowing a leadoff walk to Heriberto Hernandez. He battled back though to strike out Griffin Conine and Jakob Marsee before getting Javier Sanoja to pop out to second base to end it. Williams continues to bring his ratios down as the season progresses, now sporting a still unsavory 4.29 ERA and 1.63 WHIP to go with his 16 saves in 19 attempts.

Williams struck out one and allowed one hit as New York took the first of the doubleheader. He’s remained the team’s locked-in closer all year despite another ERA over 4. There just haven’t been as many save opportunities as projected entering the season. The Angels are the only team with fewer saves than the Mets, capping Williams’ chances. It doesn’t help that he hasn’t returned to his Milwaukee form, as some expected following his lone season with the Yankees.