The joke is that nothing ruins your Friday more than finding out it’s only Tuesday. Along those same lines, is there anything worse for a baseball fan than thinking your team is returning from the All-Star break Thursday only to find out they’re not playing until Friday? Part of me thinks the traditionalists ought to be up in arms about this, too. If Commissioner Rob Manfred is determined to outlaw the shift so the game looks more like it did when he was 12, can he make it so that all the teams return to action on Thursday after the All-Star game?
Manfred was 12 during the 1971 season. That year the All-Star game was on Tuesday, July 13. On Thursday, July 15, all 24 teams in MLB played. There were actually 13 games played that day because the Expos and Cardinals played a twinbill. It’s fun to note the starters for the Cardinals in those games. Steve Carlton won the opener and Jerry Reuss took the loss in the nightcap. Imagine if the Cardinals had kept their pitchers – it would have been a different team when Keith Hernandez made his debut a few years later.
Back to the Mets. While it’s disappointing that they won’t play today, it gives their guys another day to recover. Speaking of injured guys, let’s check in with Rotoworld for an update on some of the prominent injured guys and the latest news on their health:
Mets manager Luis Rojas said Saturday that David Peterson could miss up to eight weeks after being diagnosed with a strained right oblique.
Rojas added that it’s somewhere between a Grade 1 and Grade 2 strain, which typically requires an eight-week recovery period. Peterson has already been placed on the 10-day injured list, and it sounds like he could potentially be sidelined until late-August or early-September. It’s another significant blow to the Mets’ rotation, which has been decimated by injuries this season.
Marcus Stroman is slated to start the Mets’ first game after the All-Star break on Friday versus the Pirates.
The rest of the New York rotation is currently listed “to be announced” as of now, but Jacob deGrom is widely expected to take the ball on either Saturday or Sunday. Stroman will start the second half with a 2.75 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over 98 1/3 innings.
J.D. Davis (finger) went 4-for-6 with a homer, two doubles, and three RBI in a rehab game Tuesday night with Triple-A Syracuse.
Davis now has seven hits in his last 12 minor league rehab at-bats, five of them for extra bases. The 28-year-old remains on track to rejoin the Mets for the start of the second half Friday against the Pirates. He was batting .390/.479/.610 in 48 plate appearances for New York when he landed on the IL in early May with a sprained middle finger.
Carlos Carrasco (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Brooklyn on Thursday.
Carrasco is slated to throw one inning Thursday before building upon that and eventually joining the Mets’ rotation in early August, if all goes well. The veteran right-hander has been out all season with a torn right hamstring but could give the Mets a nice boost down the stretch.
It’s nice to see that Davis will come back swinging a hot bat and that Stroman getting the ball when the Mets return to action. If he was really pitching through an injury, they would have had someone else go first and given Stroman as much time as possible between starts. As for the pitchers on the IL, it looks like early August for Carrasco, late August for Peterson and September for Noah Syndergaard.
Knowing all of that, how eager would you be for the Mets to trade for another starter, anytime between now and the trade deadline?
If it was me, the plan would be for Carrasco to make three rehab starts, looking to increase his innings by one in each appearance. So, he’d go one inning today, two innings on 7/20 and three innings on Sunday 7/25. He could move up a level each time, too, with the first start in Brooklyn, the second for Binghamton and the third for Syracuse. If those three games go off without a hitch, my preference would be for Carrasco to give the Mets four innings somewhere around 7/30, rather than hope for two innings from whatever reliever the team would have used as an opener.
However, if any type of setback happens in any of Carrasco’s rehab starts, then you can turn your eyes seriously towards a trade for a starting pitcher. That would still give the team plenty of time to determine if they’re willing to pay the freight for a guy under control past 2021 or if they want to focus on a pure rental.
And there’s another possibility out there, too. The Mets will have a presence at Cole Hamels’ workout on Friday. He could be signed and put under the same three-start plan in the minors like Carrasco. How odd would it be to see Hamels on the Mets? We’ll know the world is different than when Manfred was 12 if the longtime Philly ace suits up for the home team in Queens.
Let’s not overlook that the Mets can use some bullpen help. One LH reliever is simply not enough. Many key games will come down to one late inning and one key at bat… as they always do. Castro is toast, May not far behind. Get a guy that jumps ahead of both and in front of Familia.
Brian,
Regarding the break, while I’d love a game tonight, Friday works, especially for a team that played 33 games in 31 days.
As of today, I would not part with any top 10 prospect for a rental at any position.
Some assumptions need to be made, so I’ll assume the top 4 starters are healthy for the balance of games, including Carrasco. It is very important to get a solid read on him by July 31, but they have been very careful with him and it looks like he is just ramping up the arm, and a fresh arm it is.
Wobbit also makes a good point, and I am on the fence with going starter or reliever. I don’t trust Diaz, Castro has been awful, May has been disappointing, and Lugo is solid multi-inning guy but not an elite 9th inning guy. A quality pen acquisition would be something beneficial in the playoffs as well, whereas a 5th starter not really. It would likely come down to acquisition cost. Megill, Stock, maybe Syndergaard, maybe Oswalt as a starter, there may be enough to cover the 90 innings or so required from a 5th starter from here on out.
Kimbrell could be the perfect fit if the cost in prospect cost is not extreme…I’d likely give up lower top 10 guy plus for him since he is dominating this year and is controllable next year. Getting back Carrasco, adding Kimbrell, and having the offense perform closer to the back of the baseball cards could make them a legit World Series contender.
Really starting to envision Kimbrell on this team. Almost as hard to imagine as Hamels after all those years dominating us in Atlanta, but it would be great to have his experience and demeanor on a playoff team. Does Diaz accept a setup role though? And does he thrive in it? Or do they share closer duties? I can really see a Bryant/Kimbrell trade happening. Cubs get JD Davis, a prospect 11-20 and we take on all of the salary.
The Mets priority should be a starting pitcher. A controllable #3 starting pitcher would solidify the rotation this year for the pennant drive and also insure next year’s rotation when Syndergaard and Stroman will be free agents. A combination of controllable JD Davis, Mauricio or Vientos would be appealing for a rebuilding team. Right now the Mets are pushing their luck with their 4th and 5th starters pitching 4-5 innings in each outing. The bullpen is stressed. Even when Carrasco gets back, he will start out with shorter outings and will probably get stretched out by mid August. That is a long time. It would make sense to have Carrasco/Megill together as the 5th starter and trade for an accomplishment pitcher. Even if the trade includes Vientos, their #8 prospect, for a rental #3 starter pitcher.
It is tempting to give up some D to get Davis’ bat in the lineup but we already know he is a bit of a liability whether at 3B or LF. Dom Smith’s D has certainly improved in LF, so why can’t Davis as well. It is still, in my opinion the easiest position on the diamond to play. The start a reliever and follow that up with 4 more pitchers may work for some teams but has not worked that well for us primarily because it taxes our pitchers for the next few days. Another starter makes sense at the rate our pitchers go down. Prefer a trade with the AL if possible. The Orioles, Royals and Rangers are toast for this season and must have someone we can pry away without giving up too much. Agree that Corrasco being more stretched out and ready to give us 4 innings if able is the way to go. While Diaz has been a Jeckle and Hyde on the mound, avoiding non save situations has been the key to his success. As bizarre as that is, when will Rojas figure that out and not put him in that situation. Lastly, will our bats that have come alive in recent weeks continue to do so or revert backwards. To me that is the key. With just a little more timely hitting, and not leaving so many RISP, we would have an 8 game lead. We could have swept 3-4 of the doubleheaders. Still thinking that when a series starts with some combination of deGrom, Walker and Stroman, the opposition has to be hopping they are able to snag one game. Here’s to a strong start to the second half!
John Harper and others are touting Berrios as the likely target for the Mets’ rotation. Gotta like that… an effective and quality starter who eats innings. Kimbrel… I can’t see the Mets doing that… would mess too much with Diaz, whom I think they are willing to ride into the sunset. But another LH reliever?… definitely. Bullpen the biggest challenge in the second half.
Finally, someone who agrees with me that JD can play LF. I absolutely felt he was better in the OF than he was at 3rd, with a strong arm, and the move would allow him to relax at the plate. Mets infield is gelling with current personnel, and JD needs to get ABs without giving runs back to the opponent. Ultimately, he’s a valuable trade piece to the American League.
JD’s return can also motivate Dom to bear down more. I know he’s hitting better these days, but knowing someone may be robbing him of ABs can make him that much more determined.