Paul Blackburn Injury: Ready for activation

Blackburn (shoulder) threw 87 pitches (56 strikes) for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, allowing one run on five hits and one walk over 6.1 innings. He struck out six.

The veteran righty has looked good on his rehab stint, and over two appearances for Syracuse he's posted an 11:2 K:BB in 11.1 innings with a 1.59 ERA. While the Mets have Blackburn stretched out for a potential starting role, there doesn't appear to be room for him in the big-league rotation at the moment, and the team won't need a sixth starter until the second half of August due to frequent off days. Frankie Montas could get bumped to a long-relief role, but Blackburn is the more likely candidate to move to the bullpen once he gets activated.