Right-hander Paul Blackburn turned in the best pitching performance the Mets have received all week. He was rewarded by being designated for assignment Saturday. The Mets didn’t have much of a choice, and with little roster flexibility they had to make a move to clear a roster spot for Nolan McLean, Saturday’s starter .

His tenure in New York didn’t exactly work out the way he or the Mets had hoped. Traded from the Oakland A’s at the deadline last summer to bolster their starting pitching depth, Blackburn spent most of his time with the Mets on the injured list. In between, his performance was wildly inconsistent, with good starts and some downright awful performances, going 1-5 with a 6.00 ERA in 12 appearances (nine starts).

Still, the Mets could have handled the situation differ

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