KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Robert Gsellman’s barking right triceps were still an issue Saturday, leaving the Mets with little choice but to place him on the injured list.

Walker Lockett arrived from Triple-A Syracuse before the Mets faced the Royals at Kauffman Stadium and was added to the roster as Gsellman’s replacement. Gsellman’s IL stint will be backdated to Aug. 12, meaning he could be available for a return by Friday.

Gsellman, who is 2-3 with a 4.66 ERA in 52 appearances this season, played catch before Saturday’s 4-1 win at Kansas City and felt “pretty good,” according to manager Mickey Callaway, but the Mets couldn’t afford to continue carrying him if he was unable to pitch.

Lockett entered play 1-1 with a 7.79 ERA this season in four appearances as a starter. Callaway indicated the right-hander won’t have a specific bullpen role.

“Right now I think he is a guy that is going to go in and throw strikes and maybe get us a ground ball if we need one,” Callaway said. “He can get multiple outs, so I think at this point it would probably me a multiple-inning usage thing right off the bat and then we’ll adjust.”

J.D. Davis was absent from the starting lineup a night after departing the game with discomfort in his right calf. Aaron Altherr started in left field in Davis’ spot and went 1-for-3. Davis indicated the calf discomfort was a recurring injury that he has dealt with even before this season. He pinch-hit in the seventh, striking out. Altherr entered play 4-for-54 (.074) with the Mets this season.

Amed Rosario started at DH after Callaway computed the number of plays and times on base for the shortstop in recent days.

“His stress level was getting pretty high — higher than anybody else’s,” Callaway said. “Going into the game [Friday] I wanted to see what [Pete] Alonso did and what Rosie did because they were both getting pretty stressed. It seemed like Rosie was the right choice for today.”

Rosario went 0-for-3.

The Mets have been hit by pitches 73 times this season, after two plunkings by the Royals on Saturday. It ties the 2018 Mets franchise record of 73 hit by pitches. Jeff McNeil and Alonso lead the team with 17 hit by pitches apiece.