Mets rookie Christian Scott won’t throw for 2 weeks but is expected to pitch again this season

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets rookie Christian Scott won’t throw for two weeks but is expected to pitch again this season after an MRI of his ailing right elbow did not show a severe injury.

A 25-year-old right-hander who made his major league debut on May 4, Scott has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament.

“Relatively good news,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said before Wednesday night’s game at Yankee Stadium. “We’ve got to wait the next two weeks and then see how he progresses when we start building him back up, but from what I was told talking to the trainers and even with Scotty, we feel pretty good with him being back here at some point before the year is over.”

Scott is 0-3 with a 4.56 ERA in nine starts for the Mets. He informed the team of elbow pain after he threw 75 pitches over four innings in a loss at Miami on Sunday. Scott had a scan Tuesday after the team returned to New York.

“We see it as a positive sign the fact that he’s only going to be shut down for two weeks,” Mendoza said. “Every time you send a pitcher for an MRI because he complains about the elbow, you never know what you’re going to get, right? So, yeah, I think relief.”

Luis Severino will start Thursday’s homestand opener against Atlanta and Kodai Senga will make his season debut Friday after recovering from a right shoulder capsule strain. The Mets haven’t decided who will take Scott’s turn on Saturday, and David Peterson will start Sunday.

Scott spent two stints on the injured list during his 2023 minor league season, when he pitched 87 2/3 innings over 19 starts at three levels. The Mets have limited his starts to 75-99 pitches in the big leagues.

“We’ve been trying to protect him and monitoring pitch counts,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza wouldn’t commit to replacing Scott with Jose Buttó, who has become an important member of the big league bullpen lately. Buttó spent the first three months of the season as a starter for the Mets and Triple-A Syracuse.

“We might need to use him before we get there,” Mendoza said.

Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley, sidelined by a shoulder impingement, was scratched from a rehab appearance Thursday with High-A Brooklyn and instead will throw batting practice at Citi Field.

“Mechanics-wise he felt like he was a little off the last time he faced hitters,” Mendoza said.

Reid-Foley could pitch for Brooklyn on Sunday and then again on Tuesday.