ST. LOUIS -- After an 18-inning win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, the New York Mets demoted Johnny Monell and replaced him with Anthony Recker as the backup catcher.
Kevin Plawecki caught all 18 innings in sauna-like conditions at Busch Stadium in the series finale, so Recker is likely to catch Matt Harvey on Monday night in Washington.
Recker had been optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on June 14. He hit .293 with seven homers and 19 RBIs and had a .398 on-base percentage in 75 at-bats in the Pacific Coast League.
In two stints with the Mets this season, Monell is hitting .178 (8-for-45) with four RBIs.
Despite Sunday's 18-inning game, manager Terry Collins said the Mets did not need an extra arm for the series opener against the Washington Nationals. Alex Torres went unused Sunday. Jeurys Familia, Bobby Parnell and Jenrry Mejia all should be available on Monday as well, according to Collins.
