The Mets need starting pitchers STAT!
Not long ago, the Mets were loaded with pitchers. But then we traded away three of our best pitching prospects, let one of our top starters leave via free agency, and lost another to Tommy John surgery.
Despite all that, we still had the makings of a good rotation, led by two-time Cy Young Award winner, Jacob deGrom, backed up by former Blue Jays ace Marcus Stroman and lefty Steven Matz. The trio was bolstered by the additions of former AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello and former Cardinals phenom Michael Wacha. It was a thin rotation, but still potentially good.
When Stroman suffered a calf injury, rookie David Peterson stepped in. Then Wacha got injured and the team was trying to determine who, from among a rag tag group of journeymen and possible waiver pickups, could fill in for a start or two until Stroman was ready. Only now, Stroman announced he’s opting out of the season due to Covid-19 concerns.
Given Wacha’s shaky injury history and the early struggles and diminished velocity from Porcello, our rotation now looks like deGrom and Matz and win with the bats. The bullpen has been coming around and just got some reinforcements off the IL. The lineup hasn’t begun firing on all cylinders yet, but once Alonso and Ramos start hitting, we won’t be stranding all those runners on base anymore. But even at full blast, our lineup can’t carry an incomplete rotation. The Mets need another reliable starter and he’s just not in the system.
The emergence of Andres Gimenez, plus the positional flexibility of Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis and others, affords the Mets a few expendable trade chips. Despite the expanded playoffs, there are at least a half dozen teams who are simply not playing for this year. The Pirates, Giants, Royals, Orioles, Tigers, Marlins, Blue Jays, and Mariners are all building around prospects and would be happy to shed veteran pitchers for young players or prospects. There’s no Cy Young winner to be found on those rosters, but there are a few solid veteran pitchers like Matthew Boyd, Tanner Roark, Danny Duffy, Caleb Smith, Kevin Gausman, et al.
In a 60-game season, it gets late awfully early and the Mets can’t afford to let the season get away. This team has it’s flaws, but so does every team. Players are getting injured, sick or opting out all over the place. No team looks unbeatable. The 2021 Mets could look a lot different, with roster churn, a new GM and even new ownership. We have as good a shot as any team this year, but need to add another arm before this year quickly slips away. #LFGM
New starting staff for Mets: Degrom, Matz, Porcello, Peterson, Kilome – give him a shot, could catch lighting in a bottle, we all know what Oswalt, Lockett bring… nothing !
If Kilome doesn’t work, get Lugo in there and let Gsellman be in the wings too. It is going to get late pretty quickly and Mets will need to string victories together fast. Losing Thor, now Stroman are some serious blows. If Kilome can’t do it, Lugo can.
You might want to cross Matz of your list. Good Lord, 8 runs in 4 innings.
Matz hasn’t been real good since 2016
It’s time to put Lugo in the rotation and let the bullpen fend for itself; there’s enough money wasted out there anyway. I wouldn’t trade for a piece of gum, for two reasons: 1. We don’t even know if MLB will make it to the final bell, and 2. the Mets have been ravaged in trades and would be more so now that everyone knows they’re on their way out from there.
Now there’s concern that Matz might be tipping his pitches. Not sure about that, but as BK points out, every time Matz gives up one big hit or someone makes an error behind him, he looks like his dog died. That’s Little League stuff. He needs to grow the eff up. Even when he’s at his best, he still has too many starts where the wheels come off.
I am very concerned that with the Wilpons in a possible lame duck season and BVW on thin ice, they might do something desperate and regrettable. I’d give Kilome a shot and also stretch out Gsellman. Wacha was a bad signing.