Oliver Perez has been bad all season. So bad that the Mets wanted to send him to the minors, but Perez - being a major league veteran - invoked his right to refuse. So the Mets pushed him to the bullpen instead, not ready to cut him outright and eat the remainder of his embarrassingly expensive contract.
The Mets Might Be Busted
It was a messy situation from which there was no obvious escape. At least until Jon Niese was ready to return from a hamstring injury. All of a sudden, Oliver Perez’s knee started acting up, and the Mets placed him on the DL. It was, shall we say, convenient. And it was sufficiently convenient so as to arouse MLB’s suspicions.
According to the Daily News, MLB will review the MRI of Oliver Perez’s knee, taken before he was put on the 15-day disabled list.
…initially, i assumed this was a formality… but, i’ve since heard from two people who work for MLB who say this is a serious investigation, not a formality, and there is a chance the transaction gets reversed.
On the one hand, getting busted for a phony DL stint would be a very Mets thing to do, and there is very clear reason to question the validity of the roster move.
On the other hand, for one thing, Perez did just have knee surgery last offseason and some with the team believe he’s been hurting since spring. And for another thing, MLB has a long history of convenient injuries and DL abuse, as we see with Rule 5 Draft selections on an almost annual basis. If MLB investigates most suspicious DL placements and never overturns any of them, then there’s little reason to believe they’ll overturn this one now, especially if it’s as valid as some with the organization insist.
Chances are, nothing’s going to happen. It always could, but it probably won’t, and in the event that MLB gives this the OK, fans of Oliver Perez should prepare themselves for a rather lengthy recovery. Tendinitis doesn’t just get better in two weeks, you know.
Timely update: sure enough, MLB has cleared the Mets of any shenanigans!
(via)
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