Mets reliever Sean Reid-Foley returns after Tommy John surgery, but his signature mustache does not…yet

ATLANTA — Fifteen months removed from a major operation, reliever Sean Reid-Foley made it back to the majors on Wednesday, called up by the Mets to join their bullpen.

Reid-Foley tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in April 2022, requiring Tommy John surgery in which doctors fashioned a new ligament out soft tissue from his right arm/wrist. When an arduous year-plus of rehabilitation ended this summer, he joined Triple-A Syracuse, pitching to mixed results.

Most recognizable for his pre-pitch squat posture and a mustache, Reid-Foley only has one of those right now. He rocked a light scruff upon his call-up — a facial tweak that he attributed to having a bad time (four runs in two innings) against the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate earlier this month.

“After my week in Scranton, I had to get rid of it,” Reid-Foley said of his upper lip hair. “I didn’t deserve it, let’s put it that way. It’ll be back.”

For now, being back sans mustache is plenty good enough. He tossed a scoreless inning in the Mets’ 7-0 loss to Atlanta in his re-debut.

It’s been a long time for Reid-Foley — even longer in Mets years. When he most recently appeared in a game, Robinson Cano was on the team. The club’s two-ace approach included Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. At least five players have received shots to solidify the DH spot since then.

The Mets initially acquired Reid-Foley from the Blue Jays in the January 2021 trade that sent Steven Matz to Toronto, but they cut him from the 40-man roster after last season, making him a free agent.

Mid-recovery, Reid-Foley sniffed around the open market for a couple of weeks but wound up re-signing on a minor-league deal.

“I felt like this was still the best fit,” he said. “I started the rehab process with them. I wanted to finish the rehab process with them and just see what can happen. It’s just easier not to meet new people and have to go, ‘this is what I’ve done, this is my program.’”

He had a 4.96 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 16 appearances with Syracuse. But he struck out 26 batters in 16 1/3 innings.

Along the way, he said, he managed to get “a good grasp” on how his pitches and body work after a lengthy layoff.

“Getting used to getting my workload back up and being OK with being sore,” he said of the most difficult part of his rehab. “… Other than that it’s been pretty good.”

He joins a large group of relievers jockeying for 2024 bullpen positioning. Manager Buck Showalter said the Mets called him up because “we needed an arm,” and Reid-Foley noted he is capable of multi-inning appearances (as was the case in years past) if the team asks.  

“I’m just happy to be here,” he said. “I worked really hard to get here — get back here, I should say.”

The Mets sent Reed Garrett down to Syracuse and designated Tyson Miller for assignment to make roster room for Reid-Foley.

Vogel-back

After a recent hot streak — including a .233/.365/.512 slash line and four homers in August — Daniel Vogelbach has gotten his season numbers back to about league-average.

“Same work, same trusting the process,” said Vogelbach, who struggled throughout the first half of the season. “I don’t change my work. I come every day and put the same amount of work in. Trust the process I’ve done my whole career. Just go out and play and you compete and you believe in yourself. That’s the number one thing in this game, you gotta know that you belong here. I’ve been able to produce here for my whole career and I believe in myself that I can hit up here.”

Extra bases

After Edwin Diaz (right knee surgery) threw off a mound at Citi Field again Wednesday, Showalter said it “went well” and the “velocities and stuff are good.” He declined to specify the next step, saying the Mets are waiting to see how Diaz recovers . . . Mark Vientos (left wrist tendinitis) is due to begin what likely will be a brief rehab assignment within the next couple of days, with an affiliate to be decided (based on weather). He is eligible to return from the IL on Saturday . . . The Mets are rolling with the same rotation for the Angels series that begins Friday: Kodai Senga, Carlos Carrasco and David Peterson . . . Jeff McNeil entered Wednesday with a seven-game hitting streak and .337/.375/.472 slash line in August. “More than anything, it’s a really good hitter starting to reach his track record,” Showalter said. “Sooner or later it was going to happen.”

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.