New York Mets Jose Lobaton
(Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

The New York Mets have brought veteran catcher Jose Lobaton back to Queens after designating him for assignment several weeks ago.

The New York Mets had been playing with a three-man bench for a couple of days, due to their pitching staff being reshuffled after injuries to Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, the former of which has been placed on the disabled list.

However, the team decided to change that as they entered their game on June 1, as the team announced on Twitter that they purchased the contract of catcher Jose Lobaton. Pitcher Scott Copeland was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

The 30-year-old Copeland made one appearance for the Mets on May 31, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings and allowing one hit. He struck out two. His only other major league experience came in 2015 when he made five appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets signed him from the Somerset Patriots of the Independent League.

Lobaton signed a minor league contract with the Mets in December and began the year in Triple-A. He was brought up after Travis d’Arnaud was lost for the season.

The 33-year old catcher made 18 appearances for the Mets during his first stint this season, putting up a .152/.250/.239 slash, driving in three runs. He was designated for assignment on May 19 and sent to Las Vegas, not too long after the Mets acquired Devin Mesoraco.

Over his nine-year year career, Lobaton has slashed .216/.293/.320 with 21 HRs and 106 RBIs. He joins Mesoraco and Kevin Plawecki as catchers on the active roster.

With the Mets carrying a four man bench, this limits their versatility some in their bench players. While they could move one of them to first base for a game or two, it’s still likely that the team moves Lobaton back to the minors, possibly once Phillip Evans is eligible to come back to the majors.

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