Mets Lose Shaun Marcum for Rest of 2013 Season

Jul 1, 2013; Flushing, NY,USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Shaun Marcum (38) pitches during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

Of all the things in the news cycle, “Shaun Marcum” and “season-ending injury” being combined into a sentence shouldn’t be the most surprising. Unfortunately for the Mets, the two phrases mesh together in an accurate way as of Tuesday.

ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin is reporting that the 31-year-old right-hander will miss the duration of the 2013 season as a result of lingering pain in his back and neck. Marcum had only made 12 starts (14 appearances) this season due to injury concerns (and effectiveness questions), but it seems as if this is the nail in the coffin for his season.

In over 78 innings, Marcum was shelled to the tune of a 5.29 ERA, and there were concerns about him losing his job for performance-related reasons well before he was diagnosed with this season-ending issue. On top of that, Marcum is on a 1-year, $4 million deal, and this news makes it a virtual certainty that his time with the Mets is over.

It is a real shame to see a guy with Marcum’s promise (he threw back-to-back 195+ inning seasons with effective numbers in 2010 and 2011) struggle like this. Hopefully, he will get his physical issues rectified in order to continue his career at the relatively young age of 31, but for Mets fans, this is probably good-bye.

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