Mets put reliever Drew Smith on 15-day IL and outfielder Starling Marte on bereavement list

By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The banged-up New York Mets are minus two more important players after putting reliever Drew Smith on the 15-day injured list and right fielder Starling Marte on the bereavement list. The team recalled infielder Mark Vientos and right-hander Dedniel Núñez from Triple-A Syracuse before the middle game of its weekend series against St. Louis. Marte went home to the Dominican Republic for family reasons and is expected to miss three days. Smith will be out longer after an MRI showed inflammation in his pitching shoulder. The right-hander was placed on the IL retroactive to Wednesday, and the Mets hope he can return as soon as he’s eligible.