Brooks Raley has been out since April 19 with elbow inflammation, and his return isn’t coming anytime soon, with the left-hander set to visit Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday, according to Carlos Mendoza.
The manager didn’t rule out Raley missing the remainder of the season, adding the lefty is “not close” to resuming throwing and is going to see Dr. Meister “to make sure we’re not missing anything before we decide the next step.”
Asked if there was fear the 35-year-old could miss the rest of the season, Mendoza said, “It’s too early to say. We want to make sure we take a good look.”
The Post’s Joel Sherman reported earlier this month that Raley had “at least” fraying of a ligament and was trying to determine whether he could rehab the injury and avoid surgery without risking a complete blowout.
Raley won’t throw again until he’s examined further and at that point a decision will be made whether to begin throwing again or find out “if something is there,” according to Mendoza.
Raley had been off to a good start to the season, having allowed just five baserunners in seven scoreless innings — along with nine strikeouts — in eight appearances.
The bullpen could get Drew Smith (shoulder) back soon, but he’s set to have another rehab outing Sunday with Triple-A Syracuse.
Mendoza said Smith “feels good physically” but is rushing his mechanics.
Kodai Senga threw a bullpen at Citi Field on Friday, as the right-hander gets closer to making his season debut following a shoulder strain that’s sidelined him since the spring.
If he reports no issues following the bullpen, Mendoza said Senga and the team would determine what he does next.
“He’s working on his mechanics, to try to get him to feel like himself with his mechanics,’’ Mendoza said. “We’ll see how he comes out of this, whether it’s live BP, a bullpen [session] or if he’s ready to go for [minor league rehab] games.”
Senga isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day IL until May 27 and isn’t expected to return until at least early June.
Mendoza said he’s not looking too far ahead in Senga’s comeback.
“It’s still dealing with the shoulder and you never know what’s going to happen,’’ Mendoza said. “He’s still got to go through hurdles.”
Tylor Megill (shoulder) is scheduled to make another rehab start at Triple-A Syracuse Sunday, Mendoza said.
Whether he rejoins the rotation after that remains to be seen.
“It’s too early to say,’’ Mendoza said. “We’ll see where we are after Sunday and the next time through [the rotation].”
Adrian Houser entered Friday still looking for his first outing out of the pen after being bumped from the rotation.
The Mets could use a six-man rotation during what’s now a 13-games in 13-days stretch, so they will decide how to best use the staff.
Tomas Nido was back in the lineup again Friday and has gotten the bulk of the playing time behind the plate ahead of Omar Narvaez, who has started just once since May 2.
“Nido is playing well and is going to get more opportunities,’’ Mendoza said. “Narvaez will continue to be a big part of the team.”
Mendoza added it will depend somewhat on matchups.
