NEW YORK — Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday because of a strained right hamstring.

The defending National League champions recalled right-hander Slade Cecconi from Triple-A Reno before the second game of a four-game series against the New York Mets.

Gallen was removed six pitches into Thursday night’s start at Citi Field. He went back to Arizona on Friday to undergo an MRI and get evaluated by team doctors.

The 28-year-old right-hander is 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 11 starts. He finished in the top five of NL Cy Young Award voting each of the past two years, including third last season when he went 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA in 210 innings and made his first All-Star team.

Gallen’s injury is the latest blow to a slumping Diamondbacks team that had lost four straight to fall six games under .500 at 25-31, equaling a season low. Arizona already was missing starters Merrill Kelly, sidelined since April 15 by a strained right shoulder, and Eduardo Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched this season because of a strained left shoulder after signing an $80 million, four-year contract as a free agent.

“It hurts, there’s no doubt about it,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I hated having to pull him off the field. I think everybody felt the same way. But nobody can feel sorry for themselves.”

Rodriguez is throwing at 75 feet, Lovullo said, and Kelly is scheduled to begin a throwing program next week.

All-Star shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (right meniscus tear) was set to play a minor league rehab game Friday in the Arizona Complex League, getting three at-bats as the designated hitter.

Right-handed reliever Miguel Castro (right shoulder inflammation) was scheduled to throw from 100 feet.

Cecconi, 24, was 1-4 with a 6.12 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance for the Diamondbacks earlier this season. He is 1-5 with a 5.31 ERA in 13 major league games (nine starts) — all with Arizona over the past two years.

NEW YORK — José Iglesias had appeared in 1,096 major league games for six organizations across 11 seasons before Friday. The slick-fielding shortstop is fully pensioned, having accrued 10 seasons of service time. He’s a bona fide veteran. But he felt like he was about to make his big league debut all over again standing in the New York Mets‘ clubhouse Friday afternoon hours before playing in his first major league game in nearly two years.

“I feel like a rookie right now,” Iglesias said.

Iglesias was called up from Triple-A Syracuse to join the Mets on Friday as their whirlwind week continued with a flurry of roster moves. The club, in the midst of playing 26 games in 27 days, executed six player transactions. In came Iglesias, reliever Dedniel Núñez and catcher Luis Torrens. Out went third baseman Brett Baty, starter Christian Scott and catcher Omar Narvaez.

The moves come at the end of a frenzied week for the Mets, who have lost eight of 10 games and designated Jorge López for assignment after the reliever threw his glove into the stands Wednesday and showed no remorse for his actions.

The Mets replaced Baty with Iglesias for middle infield depth, Scott with Núñez for another bullpen arm and Narváez with Torrens for better production at catcher. The club envisions Baty and Scott, two young promising players optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, as parts of their future. Going with Torrens over Narváez, however, was a performance-based decision.

Narváez, 32, slashed .154/.191/.185 in 28 games. The metrics indicated Narváez, who is making $8 million in the final year of his contract, was also one of the worst defensive catchers in the majors two months into the season. New York, as a result, sought a different option to split with Tomas Nido so they acquired Torrens from the New York Yankees for cash.

“There’s always competition,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said .”And, look, we thought that there was an opportunity here to get a player here in Luis Torrens that was going to make our roster a little bit better, or better. And we made the move. But nothing to say about Narvy too because he worked really, really hard. And he was a big part of our team.”

Iglesias is a Met because the team has needed a backup middle infielder since designating Joey Wendle for assignment earlier this month. The left-handed-hitting Baty, a former top prospect, isn’t in New York, for now, because the club chose the right-handed-hitting Mark Vientos over him to play third base.

Baty, 24, batted .225 with four home runs and a .628 OPS in 49 games this season.

“Where we were on the schedule, playing a doubleheader the other day and also facing four lefties in the next six games, there wasn’t going to be much playing time for Brett,” Mendoza said. “Not an easy decision, but it’s time for him to go down there and continue to get some playing time, continue to get reps, continue to develop. And then he’ll be back here. We told him that.”

Scott has been one of the few positives for the Mets this season. The 25-year-old right-hander made his big league debut May 4 and posted a 3.90 ERA in five starts. He held the Arizona Diamondbacks to two runs over five innings Thursday.

Mendoza explained that Scott was sent down to have another reliever on the roster instead of a six-man rotation with three off days sandwiched around the team’s upcoming two-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies in London. Scott is expected to rejoin the Mets soon thereafter.

“He’s a big league pitcher,” Mendoza said.

Núñez, 27, returned to New York for his fourth stint this season. He’s given up three runs over 8⅓ innings across five outings with the Mets, making his major-league debut with the team in April. He owns a 1.38 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 13 innings for Triple-A Syracuse this season.

BALTIMORE — John Means and Tyler Wells will miss the rest of the season because of elbow problems that require surgery, a blow to Baltimore’s pitching depth as the Orioles try to defend their AL East title.

Means returned late last season from Tommy John surgery but has made only eight starts since. Wells made 43 starts over the past two years but only three in 2024.

General manager Mike Elias said the two players will have their UCLs repaired. He said it’s not clear yet what type of surgery they’ll have, meaning the recovery time frames are a bit uncertain.

“It’s really disappointing,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Two guys you really pull for. We were hoping for better news.”

The Orioles began the season without starting pitchers Means and Kyle Bradish. Now Bradish is back, but Dean Kremer has missed over a week with a triceps strain — and Means and Wells may not return until after the start of next season.

“I think it’s a strong likelihood,” Elias said. “You get the repair, my understanding is that’s kind of roughly a 11-, 12-month kind of thing, front to back, in terms of getting yourself back on TV, so to speak. It can be longer than that.”

Albert Suarez was set to start Friday, with Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin and Bradish rounding out the rotation for now.

Kremer could presumably replace Suárez when he returns, which Elias said might potentially be before the end of June.

“I think usually baseball teams try to go into spring training with eight or nine starting pitching options, and now we’re down a couple,” Elias said.

The Orioles have largely withstood their injuries in the rotation so far. Burnes, acquired in an offseason trade, has looked like an ace. Bradish (1.75) and Irvin (2.84) have both posted impressive ERAs, and Rodriguez has 61 strikeouts in 51 innings. Means was 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA.

Suárez was 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA entering Friday’s start, having split time between the rotation and bullpen.

The problem is now Baltimore has only one scheduled off day in June — and the Orioles face the Rays, Blue Jays, Braves, Phillies, Yankees, Astros, Guardians and Rangers in that month. A six-man rotation might be useful for the Orioles, but it’s hard to say who else they can use as a starter until Kremer gets back.

“I think we’re keeping all options open right now,” Hyde said. “You forecast what you hope the next three weeks is going to look like, but stuff like this happens.”

The Orioles’ farm system has been loaded with top prospects, but most of them are position players. Left-hander Cade Povich was 5-1 with a 2.35 ERA for Triple-A Norfolk entering his start Friday.

“Cade is definitely a guy who’s on the tip of our tongues right now. He’s having a tremendous season in Triple-A,” Elias said. “We’re watching every little thing he does. As we enter this stretch now, with all of these games coming up, with no off days, we’ve had internal dialogue about six-mans for stretches and things like that. He’s put himself in position for that type of consideration.”