Danny Young proving to be indispensable for injury-riddled Mets bullpen

SAN DIEGO — Danny Young was Plan C at best in lefty relief when the Mets season began.

But he is proving to be indispensable beyond the club’s dearth of other options.

The season started with Brooks Raley as a talented lefty linchpin in the bullpen with free-agent addition Jake Diekman behind him.

But Raley tore his ulnar collateral ligament in April, necessitating season-ending elbow surgery, and Diekman’s rollercoaster ride ended last month when he was released by the Mets.

Enter the 30-year-old Young, who had pitched sparingly in the major leagues for the Mariners and Braves over the previous two seasons. (He was sidelined most of last year with a hip injury and underwent surgery.)

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He began play Saturday with a 3.10 ERA in 29 appearances for the Mets, showing his versatility by working multiple innings on occasion.

Over his last 16 appearances, dating to July 10, he has pitched to a 1.62 ERA.

Manager Carlos Mendoza has been judicious in his usage of Young, but given an opportunity in a high-leverage spot Thursday, the lefty entered in the sixth inning with the Mets holding a two-run lead on the Padres and worked a perfect frame.

“I am the only lefty down there right now, and he’s confident in using me,” Young said before the Mets continued their series against the Padres on Saturday at Petco Park. “He trusts me enough to use me, where it matches up.”

A night later, after Paul Blackburn was hit on the right hand by a line drive in the third inning and departed with a contusion, Young was needed in an extended role and pitched two scoreless innings.

The more Mets officials have seen of Young, the more they like.

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“We kind of knew about his capabilities based on his stuff; we just didn’t know how his hip was going to respond,” pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “We knew if he was himself and healthy, we felt like the sinker/sweeper combo — he has a cutter, he just doesn’t throw it very often — with the slot we thought that would be a good depth piece, with the potential to really help us.”

Young has 39 strikeouts in 29 innings despite a fastball that has averaged only 91.2 mph.

“Most of the time, he is getting into good positions count wise to use his big movements to his advantage,” Hefner said. “[Thursday] there were a couple of 3-2 counts where he ended up getting the punch out, so that could easily flip the other way on him. That’s a credit to him and making the pitch when it counted and it’s such a widespread movement, it’s hard as a hitter to square it up.”

Young said it’s all about the confidence he has to throw the ball in the strike zone.

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“I have got to trust my stuff, and if I get it into the box, I am OK,” he said. “Usually, when I get in trouble, it’s when I beat myself.”

As one of the few Mets pitchers with minor league options remaining, Young is aware that his roster spot isn’t cemented.

But as the only lefty reliever — and one who has excelled for the club — he has survived the roster squeeze.

Most recently, the Mets had to create space for Dedniel Nunez and chose to option Huascar Brazoban to Triple-A Syracuse.

“I have been optioned this year when I have been pitching well, and I have been optioned when I have been pitching badly,” Young said. “It doesn’t really matter. Sometimes, you are just a victim to the roster crunch or whatever the team needs.”