Jeurys Familia’s barking right elbow could leave the Mets short in the bullpen for the next few days.
Familia told The Post he has been bothered by tendinitis in the elbow and was unavailable to pitch last night in the Mets’ 3-2 victory over the Pirates at Citi Field.
“I’ll be OK — a couple of days,” Familia said.
Asked if he was concerned about the situation, Familia shrugged.
“I want to play,” he said.
Manager Terry Collins said he was aware of Familia’s condition before the game and used his bullpen accordingly. That meant using Brandon Lyon to start the seventh inning after the right-hander had gotten three outs in the sixth. Scott Rice, LaTroy Hawkins and Bobby Parnell followed Lyon.
Familia said the soreness began on Wednesday, when he pitched one inning against the White Sox and allowed a run.
* Jon Niese said he had a “knot” in his back before facing the Braves last Sunday, but didn’t feel anything during his start. He doesn’t expect any problems when he takes the mound tomorrow against the Pirates.
* A team source said it’s highly unlikely Zack Wheeler, regardless of results, will be a candidate for promotion to the Mets following his start tomorrow for Triple-A Las Vegas.
Wheeler, who will be pitching on five days’ rest because a recent rainout backed up the Las Vegas rotation, has dominated in last two starts, allowing one run over 12 innings.
The Mets are still mindful of trying to avoid starting the arbitration clock on Wheeler. One recent projection had June 4 as the “safe” date for teams hoping to avoid Super 2 arbitration with players.
* Team officials still are deciding on the next step for Frank Francisco, but general manager Sandy Alderson said it’s unlikely the right-hander will be summoned to the big leagues “right away.” Francisco has not allowed a run in five rehab appearances at Single-A St. Lucie.
* Matt Harvey was presented his NL Pitcher of the Month award for April in a pregame ceremony. For the month, Harvey went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA and held opponents to a .153 batting average, the lowest mark in the NL.
* Collins isn’t clamoring for changes to the replay system in the aftermath of umpire Angel Hernandez’s blown call in failing to give Oakland’s Adam Rosales a home run Wednesday on a ball that cleared the fence in the ninth inning. Hernandez missed the call, even after reviewing the replay. Rosales received a double, and the A’s lost 4-3 to the Indians.
“The one thing we always have to understand is once in a while we’re going to make a mistake,” Collins said.
”We’re human beings and we’re going to make a mistake, whether it’s on replay, and I will always defend that. Pretty soon this game is going to be played by robots, and we’ll all be watching it.”