Jeremy Hefner is doing well in his Tommy John rehab…if anybody cares. Not to be rude, but it seems that nobody really cares about Hefner and his Tommy John surgery. When Matt Harvey had the same surgery, all eyes were on him (and they still are). But Hefner has seems to have completely fallen under the radar when talking about injured Mets pitchers. Why is this so? It is probably because he is not a major part of the Mets’ future.
When Harvey comes back to the Mets in either late 2014 or the beginning of 2015, the Mets will have a solid, young six man rotation made up of Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom. By 2015, Colon will most likely not be a Met, because he is too old to fit the Mets’ future project. So where will Hefner fall? Will he be traded, released, sent down, or moved to the bullpen? Most likely, he will end up in the bullpen to pitch in long relief for the Mets.
The Mets have had a terrible bullpen the past few years, but that should not come as a surprise to anybody. This year, Jenrry Mejia, Gonzalez Germen, Carlos Torres, and Jairus Familia have stepped up and been dominant in crucial spots for the Mets. That said, Hefner should start contacting Mejia and comparing notes with him, because Mejia was brought up as a starter before being moved to the bullpen. Mejia has an ERA of 4.17, which is noticeably better than it was before his move to the bullpen. Hefner has a carreer ERA of 4.65, so taking bullpen lessons from Mejia might benefit him greatly.
The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond pointed out that absolutely no one cares about Hefner, especially not the media. When Hefner threw off the mound for the first time in June, not many people cared and no big baseball writers tweeted about it. However, baseball writers seem to enjoy tweeting about Harvey and his rehab stint because he actually means something to the Mets. Harvey brings wins and fans to the ballpark and the ballclub when he pitches, while Hefner brings absolutely nothing.
Have you ever heard of “Hefner Day” as the days that Hefner pitched for the Mets before he was put under the knife? Unless you are getting your thoughts mixed up with Harvey Day, the answer to that question is no. But this is not because he is disliked by Mets fans; it is because he will not be a factor on the Mets’ big league roster, unless he is put in the bullpen. Personally, I am a fan of Hefner, but I seem to be one of few. I do not want to see the Mets trade him, and I certainly do not want to see him sent down/cut from the team. Hopefully he will prove me wrong and become an All-Star caliber starter in the 2015 season, but for now, he is the least cared about player on the Mets potential 2015 roster.
As charter member of the Jeremy Hefner fan club — I care.
I also remember how he pitched like an SP#2 for half the year last season. I hope he gets a legitimate shot to compete for a starting rotation slot in 2015.
Wake me up when either pitcher starts pitching in real games. Until then, i couldn’t care less about their personal rehab milestones.