{"id":35291,"date":"2025-02-19T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291"},"modified":"2025-02-19T07:00:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T07:00:13","slug":"report-paul-blackburn-back-from-spinal-injury-hell-to-battle-for-mets-rotation-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PORT ST. LUCIE \u2014 Paul Blackburn\u2019s participation in normal physical activity late last season left him feeling as if his spine was getting crushed.<\/p>\n<p>Running, jumping, walking up and down stairs were activities that left him in severe discomfort.<\/p>\n<p>Migraines persisted, along with tingling sensations on the left side of his body.<\/p>\n<p>The Mets right-hander couldn\u2019t find an answer for his problems.<\/p>\n<p>Finally it was discovered Blackburn\u2019s issues were caused by a cerebrospinal fluid leak.<\/p>\n<p>The fix was October surgery in which doctors shaved bone spurs around a capsule in the spine that was punctured.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/20250218_MetsST_CS063.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"New York Mets pitcher Paul Blackburn (58) throws live batting practice at Spring Training, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, in Port St. Lucie, FL.\" \/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The spinal fluid was drained during the procedure and the capsule stitched.<\/p>\n<p>Blackburn spent the winter at home in Idaho resting for much of the offseason before picking up a baseball in mid-December.<\/p>\n<p>He might be a tad behind schedule this spring, but he\u2019s clearly in the Mets\u2019 rotation mix.<\/p>\n<p>Blackburn\u2019s build-up will be more closely scrutinized after Frankie Montas was shut down in recent days with a high-grade lat strain.<\/p>\n<p>Montas won\u2019t be an option to begin the season with the club \u2014 Mets officials say he won\u2019t throw for at least 6-8 weeks \u2014 leaving Blackburn and Tylor Megill as the top possibilities for that spot.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/new-york-mets-pitcher-frankie-98418852.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Frankie Montas \u0111\u00e3 k\u00fd h\u1ee3p \u0111\u1ed3ng hai n\u0103m tr\u1ecb gi\u00e1 34 tri\u1ec7u \u0111\u00f4 la v\u00e0o m\u00f9a gi\u1ea3i n\u00e0y.\" \/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The fact Blackburn is without minor league options (Megill can be optioned to the minors) places him as the front-runner for the spot provided he is healthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI expect to be ready to go,\u201d Blackburn said.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday he faced hitters for the first time this spring in one inning of live batting practice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like the sinker. That is a pitch he is working on,\u201d manager Carlos Mendoza said. \u201cThe fact that he is facing hitters after what he went through in the offseason, that is a big step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/20250218_MetsST_CS067.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Ng\u01b0\u1eddi n\u00e9m b\u00f3ng c\u1ee7a New York Mets, Paul Blackburn (58) th\u1ef1c hi\u1ec7n bu\u1ed5i t\u1eadp \u0111\u00e1nh b\u00f3ng tr\u1ef1c ti\u1ebfp t\u1ea1i Spring Training, Th\u1ee9 Ba, ng\u00e0y 18 th\u00e1ng 2 n\u0103m 2025, t\u1ea1i Port St. Lucie, FL.\" \/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Brandon Nimmo said his focus this week is \u201cupping the load\u201d on his left foot to more than sprint speed as he participates in full-squad workouts. The outfielder, who is recovering from plantar fasciitis in the foot, said last week he was running at about 91 percent of his top foot speed. This week it\u2019s more about \u201cbeing in cleats the full day\u201d and \u201cbase-running drills,\u201d according to Nimmo.<\/p>\n<p>Sean Reid-Foley apologized multiple times to Francisco Lindor after buzzing the Mets shortstop with a high fastball during live batting practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul Blackburn might be a tad behind schedule this spring, but he\u2019s clearly in the Mets\u2019 rotation mix.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":35292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[988,44,17,1057,1058,50,780],"class_list":["post-35291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-brandon-nimmo","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-nyu-langone-injury-report","tag-nyu-langone-medical-center","tag-sports","tag-spring-training"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paul Blackburn might be a tad behind schedule this spring, but he\u2019s clearly in the Mets\u2019 rotation mix.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T07:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291\",\"name\":\"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-19T07:00:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T07:00:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg\",\"width\":1300,\"height\":1600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37\",\"name\":\"MsNga\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsNga\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot - NEWS USA","og_description":"Paul Blackburn might be a tad behind schedule this spring, but he\u2019s clearly in the Mets\u2019 rotation mix.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-02-19T07:00:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1300,"height":1600,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MsNga","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsNga","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291","name":"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-19T07:00:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T07:00:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-82.jpg","width":1300,"height":1600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=35291#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"REPORT: Paul Blackburn back from spinal injury hell to battle for Mets rotation spot"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37","name":"MsNga","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsNga"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35293,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35291\/revisions\/35293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}