Sean Manaea’s return has been delayed yet again.
The left-hander complained of left elbow discomfort following his most recent rehab outing on Friday and an MRI exam performed Monday showed a loose body in the elbow.
Manaea received a cortisone injection Monday and will be shut down for 48-72 hours to see if the shot worked.
As of now, Carlos Mendoza added, surgery is not considered an option for the elbow, but president of baseball operations David Stearns added it’s unclear if it will be needed following the season.
“They’re telling me that he should be fine for the rest of the year,” the manager said before the Mets’ 7-4 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night at Citi Field. “But we’ll see what happens.”
Stearns also said Manaea could make his next rehab outing sometime in the middle of next week.
“This sets us back a couple days, but at least right now, we don’t anticipate this necessarily resetting anything,” Stearns said.
If all goes according to plan, Manaea will be able to pitch without discomfort and could return to the rotation following another rehab start.
On Tuesday, he said he already felt improvement in the area.
Still, it’s the latest physical issue for Manaea, who signed a three-year, $75 million deal to return to the Mets in the offseason.
He suffered an oblique strain during the spring and then had a setback with the oblique.
“This is not how I want to start the contract,” Manaea said. “It’s very frustrating.”
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The news came as Frankie Montas was set to make his season debut for the Mets after being out with a strained lat.
Jesse Winker (oblique) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment “by the end of the weekend,’’ according to Mendoza.
And since Winker has been sidelined since early May — while making a throw from the outfield — Mendoza said he would focus on DH and wouldn’t be rushed back.
“The biggest thing is the bat,” Mendoza said of Winker, who was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot for Montas.
To make room on the active roster for Montas, right-hander Chris Devenski was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
Ronny Mauricio was in the lineup at second base on Tuesday in a 2-for-16 rut with seven strikeouts and struggling with the fastball.
Stearns said, “I think we’re asking a lot of Ronny right now.”
Mauricio went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the ninth inning of the Mets’ loss on Tuesday night.
Coming off a torn ACL that sidelined him for over a year, Mauricio played in just 19 minor league games this season before being moved to the majors on June 3.
“He’s a really talented player,” Stearns said. “There’s development left in his game.”
Edwin Díaz, who did not pitch in Tuesday night’s loss, threw his first changeup in a game Monday since 2020, when he gave up a single to Matt Olson in the top of the ninth.
Mendoza said Díaz has been working on the pitch with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.