Tim Britton of The Athletic brings up an interesting talking point about the Mets bullpen.
At least one of Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman are expected to start the season in the bullpen. However, maybe it would be best if it is not as a strict one-inning reliever.
Brian Bannister brings up an interesting idea for how relievers need to be used:
“I think the equilibrium is going to come where you see more starting pitching prospects end up being three-inning relievers. They’re not going to start the game, but they have enough stuff to get through a whole lineup one time to supply that three innings.
That’s a very interesting idea on his part. It probably is true too. Some pitchers just simply cannot face a lineup multiple times. At the same time, though, a former starting pitcher should be able to stay in the game longer than someone who was brought up as a reliever, right?
Mickey Callaway believes that to be the case.
“I would think you’re looking at a guy that’s going from the starting rotation to relieving that can get through the lineup one time maybe or throw two innings and face six or seven batters instead of three and you’re done.”
In the cases of Lugo and Gsellman, that should be true. Both have been effective in a starter role in their careers, therefore, they should be able to get through a lineup one time.
Most starting pitchers end up becoming relievers in the first place because of their inability to get through a lineup a third time, which in the bullpen, they never have to do.
Lugo and Gsellman should both be perfectly able to get through the lineup one full time, especially if Mickey Callaway sticks to his prior statement on his plans to utilize them.
He does seem intent on sticking to his guns on that as he says this about the transition from starter to reliever:
“You look at it and everybody thinks, ‘You just put him in the pen and he can pitch every day.’ Some guys just can’t do that because they’re used to one thing. Maybe two years from now they’d be able to throw three [days] out of four, but for now, we have to make sure we keep them healthy.
“So to put a guy in the bullpen and all of a sudden start using him like a traditional reliever would be a mistake, in my book. For now, we have to ease them into the role.”
Yes, that is 100% true. It is not just as easy as it sounds. These pitchers have been taught to pitch every fifth day for their career with one throw day in between.
The expectation that they can become a dominant reliever overnight is just unrealistic as well as the expectation that they can pitch back-to-back days with regularity.
So what it really comes down to is figuring out what the most effective way to use them is.
With a starting rotation that Callaway has hinted might not face a lineup a third time, it might make sense to flip-flop between Lugo and Gsellman in allowing them to pitch two-to-three innings in relief.
That way they can shift the bullpen to the latter half that includes Anthony Swarzak, Jerry Blevins, AJ Ramos, and Jeurys Familia.
One of the biggest problems for the Mets last season was their inability to get innings out of their starters and shifting to the bullpen too quickly, which caused the Mets to overuse the pen and led to their ineffectiveness.
With Lugo and Gsellman, the Mets could avoid touching any of those guys until Lugo and Gsellman are out.
The Mets will need to monitor this and they can probably only expect the two of them to make around three appearances each turn through the rotation, but that should be enough.
That would allow them to avoid having Matt Harvey, who probably could use this the most, as well as possibly two other pitchers from having hitters lock in on their stuff the third time around and give the Mets a better chance to win.
Another component of this to consider is that the Mets could effectively be keeping Lugo and Gsellman stretched out by keeping them in this role.
If Lugo and Gsellman both became one-inning relievers, they would probably need to go down to the minor leagues and get stretched out to become viable starting options. If they become multi-inning relievers, though, they are still viable spot-starter options as the gap from three innings to five or six is not nearly as daunting of a task.
The Mets have a luxury if healthy, which is always a question with this pitching staff. But if they have it, they need to take full advantage of it.
