Major League Baseball

Mets reliever Parnell out with numbness in finger

Published Apr. 21, 2011 12:16 a.m. ET

foxsports

Mets reliever Bobby Parnell has a circulatory problem in the middle finger of his pitching hand and will have further tests to determine if a blood clot is causing the numbness.

The hard throwing right-hander is likely headed for the 15-day disabled list Thursday when left fielder Jason Bay is scheduled to be activated.

''To have something like this is concerning because I don't know much about it,'' Parnell said Wednesday before the Mets played the Houston Astros.

Parnell will have a test Thursday in which a dye is injected into his bloodstream to check for clots and blockages before the Mets determine a course of action. Parnell said the treatment could be as simple as a ''aspirin diet'' to thin the blood.

Parnell has lacked feeling in the finger for about a week and a half. On Tuesday night, he threw a wild pitch and balked with the bases loaded. He said he has trouble gripping the ball.

Jason Isringhausen will take over as the eighth-inning setup man for closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Parnell is 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in eight appearances.

Bay has been on the DL since spring training with a strained left rib cage. He played in a minor league game Wednesday. After Tuesday's loss, manager Terry Collins suggested Bay could be activated Wednesday to help the foundering offense.

But the Mets chose to hold him one more day.

''I got to ... answer this politically correct because I wanted him four days ago,'' Collins said, ''but history experience people who the medical staff who dealt with this injury in the past said 'Hey, look. Here's the process that needs to take place,' and so that's what we did.''