Blade Tidwell News: Works in relief Friday

Tidwell coughed up four earned runs on five hits and two walks over 3.1 innings of relief in Friday's 9-1 loss to the Pirates. He struck out one.

Tidwell endured a rough long-relief appearance, with most of the damage coming off a Bryan Reynolds three-run shot in the sixth inning. The 24-year-old remains a candidate to replace Griffin Canning (Achilles) in the rotation, but with an off day Monday, the Mets won't need a fifth starter until next weekend. Tidwell also has a brutal 10.13 ERA and 8:7 K:BB in 10.2 big-league innings this season and hasn't been dominant at Triple-A Syracuse this season, so it's possible that the Mets turn to another prospect such as Nolan McLean or Jonah Tong to plug the rotation hole until Sean Manaea (elbow) is ready to return from the 60-day injured list.