Mets cut reliever Jake Diekman and promote fellow lefty Matt Gage from Triple-A Syracuse

NEW YORK (AP) — In a surprising move Monday, the New York Mets cut veteran reliever Jake Diekman and promoted fellow left-hander Matt Gage from Triple-A Syracuse.

Diekman was 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA and four saves in a team-high 43 appearances after signing a $4 million, one-year contract with the Mets in February. He earned a huge save at Yankee Stadium last Tuesday, striking out red-hot slugger Aaron Judge with a runner aboard in the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory.

But the 37-year-old Diekman allowed three runs and four hits over two innings in a pair of outings against Atlanta over the weekend and was designated for assignment before Monday night’s series opener versus Minnesota.

“Not an easy one, especially when you’re dealing with a guy like Diek who’s been here since day one, spring training, here all the way to this point, been in this league for a long time — and he was such a professional,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

“He was always willing to take the baseball. And when it was hard for him, going through his struggles and things like that, he was always available. He always wanted to be there. But we got to the point where we needed to make a decision.”

Diekman has struck out 40 batters and walked 24 in 32 innings. He is 27-34 with a 3.91 ERA and 19 saves over 13 major league seasons with nine teams.

New York has seven days to trade, release or send him outright to the minors, an assignment he would have the right to refuse in favor of free agency.

Gage was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash on July 7 and will be looking to make his first big league appearance of the season. He is 0-1 with a 1.83 ERA in 16 games and 19 2/3 innings with Toronto (2022) and Houston (2023).

The 31-year-old Gage grew up about 200 miles from Citi Field in upstate New York and attended Siena College just outside Albany. He had three saves in five outings with Syracuse, striking out seven and walking two in 5 1/3 scoreless innings.

“Throws over the top. The two-seam, the cutter, can get righties, lefties,” Mendoza said. “Been watching film obviously since we got him a couple of weeks ago. So yeah, he’s here, ready to go, and he’ll get opportunities.”

Depleted by a rash of injuries, New York’s bullpen has been in constant flux all season as president of baseball operations David Stearns tries to improve a shaky unit. Veteran right-handers Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek were obtained in trades this month.

“We’ve been dealing with it the whole year. It always happens. It’s always evolving, you’re always looking for the next guy and how can you get better?” Mendoza said. “It’s been a little bit of a challenge, to be honest with you. But, trust the guys that we’ve got in there and we’ll continue to give them opportunities.”

Of the eight relievers on the Mets’ opening day roster, Adam Ottavino and closer Edwin Díaz are the only ones who remain in their bullpen. New York has blown 16 of 44 save chances, and a major league-high nine pitchers have earned a save this season — tied for the second most in franchise history.

The Mets rank 19th in the majors with a 4.09 bullpen ERA, but that number is 3.08 in 38 innings since the All-Star break.

Still, the Mets began the day holding the final wild-card spot in a crowded National League playoff race.

“You’ve got to get familiar with a lot of these guys that, you don’t know how comfortable they are either going back-to-back, going multiple innings, how quick they recover,” Mendoza said. “Situations in the game — you would like to give them a clean inning, or bring them in with runners on. So there’s a lot to learn here from a lot of these guys that you’re not really familiar with, and that’s kind of been the biggest thing.”