Just Mets

Vic Black completed his rehabilitation assignment on Sunday, and the Mets activated him from the 15-day disabled list.

After activating Black, the Mets optioned him to Triple-A Las Vegas – they did not add him to the active roster.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering he was so much a part of the plan for the Mets bullpen heading into the season. But, his rehab assignment was approaching the 30-day mark, at which point the Mets needed to either activate him and add him to the roster, or deem him unready to be activated and take him off of his rehab assignment.

He’s clearly pain free, but while he’s been better lately, he’s struggled to regain the consistent velocity and command he had before originally injuring his neck last August, with which he was often dominant.

Given how well the bullpen has performed this season, there was no reason to add an unstable or unpredictable element to the bullpen. Since he had an available option, it made sense to spend one to give him more time to get his stuff in order and feel more comfortable on the mound.

As Terry Collins said in Phoenix on Sunday, they need people here to perform – it is not an extended spring training camp at the big league level.

Black is now out of options, but if the Mets recall Black within 20 days, the option can be returned.