New York Mets News: Jeremy Hefner to start Thursday

New York Mets pitcher Jeremy Hefner has had an interesting 2012 season thus far. After making a terrific Major League debut in which he tossed three scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, he was demoted shortly after. Just two days ago, Hefner was recalled from AAA and promptly tossed five innings after Miguel Batista left the game after two innings with a back injury.

After the Mets placed Batista on the DL, there were rumblings that the 26-year-old righty would start on Thursday against the San Diego Padres. That has now materialized, and ESPN’s Adam Rubin tweeted that Hefner is officially Thursday’s starter in the place of Batista.

Jeremy Hefner made seven starts at Triple-A Buffalo with a 2.77 ERA and a 3.76 FIP in 46.1 innings. Although he displays great control, Hefner doesn’t get many punchouts and has been lucky in the limited eight innings that he has pitched in the MLB this year.

Still, it is good to see the Mets giving him a shot after two promising outings that were solid, and he has a 3.29 xFIP thus far. Hefner started out his career in the San Diego Padres organization, and this is his first year with the Mets.

The Mets optioned pitcher Chris Schwinden to AAA, and this is no surprise given that he is flipped between the Majors and minors liberally. The 25-year-old starter has been underwhelming this season. He allowed eleven runs in eight innings, but Schwinden is still a decent fringe-roster depth option for the Mets and was worth 0.4 WAR for the team in 21 MLB innings last year and posted solid peripherals (7.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9).

In order to add more depth, the New York Mets have recalled Vinny Rottino from AAA. The 3B/OF can play at any position in the outfield- the Mets could use some bench depth here- and played at C, 1B, and 3B while with the Milwaukee Brewers. Yes, that’s right, Rottino caught two innings for the Brew Crew back in 2006.

He has been impressive in 155 plate appearances in the minors this year with a .361 OBP for a great 136 wRC+. That won’t last for the utility man, but the Mets will see if his hot streak allows him to not be a liability at the dish in the Majors. Rottino has been called up for his positional flexibility, even if he isn’t exactly a quality defensive player.

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