Paul Blackburn’s 2025 Opening Day may be in jeopardy, but he and the Mets hope his spinal fluid leak is fixed.
The Mets right-hander underwent a cerebrospinal fluid leak repair on Oct. 11, the club announced Tuesday.
The procedure, done by Dr. Wouter Schievink at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, typically allows a player to return in four to five months.
Blackburn arrived in a deadline trade from the A’s and pitched in five games before a series of injuries began.
He was struck in the right hand by a line drive in San Diego on Aug. 23, which sent him to the injured list. Blackburn was set to return following a Sept. 3 rehab start, but he was scratched with what originally was called lower back discomfort.
Upon further investigation, that back discomfort was diagnosed as a spinal fluid leak in his back, which ended his season.
Blackburn, a 30-year-old, back-end starter, pitched to a 4.66 ERA in 14 total starts with the A’s and Mets this season and will be entering his final year of arbitration.
If the Mets retain Blackburn, he would be due somewhere in the $4-5 million neighborhood and would represent further depth for what right now is a depleted starting group.
Set to hit free agency are Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana.
Promising youngster Christian Scott will miss the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery.
Kodai Senga and David Peterson are the only surefire members of the group, with Blackburn, Tylor Megill and perhaps Jose Butto, along with prospects such as Brandon Sproat, expected to compete in spring training.