Jonny Venters gets platelet-rich plasma injection - MLB

Jonny Venters is making his way back from undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery in May of last year, but the Braves setup man had to shut his throwing program down last week due to soreness.

Venters went to see Dr. James Andrews, who performed the surgery, and Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that he received a platelet-rich plasma injection intended to aid the healing process.

That’s good news in that there’s no new structural damage, but Venters will be sidelined for at least a month before he can resume throwing again. Unfortunately he’s becoming an example of how not every pitcher who undergoes Tommy John surgery makes a smooth, 12 month-long recovery and it’s looking less and less likely that Venters will pitch for the Braves in 2014 after missing all of 2013.

Before going under the knife Venters posted a 2.23 ERA with 258 strikeouts in 230 innings setting up Craig Kimbrel in what was an incredible late-inning duo.

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PITTSBURGH — The New York Mets will have to dig out of an early-season hole without star first baseman Pete Alonso.

The leading home run hitter in the majors will miss three-to-four weeks with a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist.

The Mets placed Alonso on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to June 8. Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of a 7-5 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Alonso traveled to New York for testing on Thursday. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but the Mets will be missing one of the premier power hitters in the game as they try to work their way back into contention in the NL East.

“We got better news than it could have been,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “So we take that as a positive. It could have been worse.”

New York had lost six straight heading into a three-game series at Pittsburgh that began Friday. Mark Canha started at first for the Mets in the opener. Mark Vientos could also be an option, though Showalter said the coaching staff may have to use its “imagination” in thinking of ways to get by without Alonso.

“I’m not going to say someone has to step up and all that stuff,” Showalter said. “You’ve just got to be who you are.”

Even with Alonso in the lineup, the Mets have struggled to score consistently. New York is 16th in the majors in runs scored.

The team also said Friday that reliever Edwin Uceta had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Uceta initially went on the IL in April with what the team called a sprained left ankle. He is expected to be out for at least an additional eight weeks.

New York recalled infielder Luis Guillorme and left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn from Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets sent catcher Tomás Nido to Triple-A and designated reliever Stephen Nogosek for assignment.

Nogosek is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 13 games this season.