As far as 2015 goes, it seems as if there’s really only one guy with a firm lock on his rotation spot. On opening day, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Matt Harvey will take the mound as the Mets ace. Beyond that, the rotation is as big a mystery as any.
There are certain guys that we expect to be here. Unless they are traded, Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler will pitch behind Harvey. They are both young guns that the Mets view in high regard. If one of them is traded in the off season, Noah Syndergaard is the likely replacement, fitting the same profile as a hard throwing, young right hander.
That leaves one or two spots open and several pitchers left to fill them. Unless he’s traded, Jon Niese makes a ton of sense as the teams only lefty starter. As does Bartolo Colon if he’s still here. You can’t send a veteran who led your team in wins to the bullpen. Especially when he’s 42 years old.
The guy I keep circling back to is Dillon Gee. I can’t figure out where he fits into the Mets future. He’s been an incredibly dependable starter for the Mets since his debut in 2010. Over the span, he’s won 40 games with a career ERA of 3.89. That’s been helped by his 3.88 ERA this season.
Still he’s an unremarkable pitcher in a rotation that is about to be loaded with elite talent. Sure he could be a 5th starter but only if there’s room. Someone will have to be traded but Gee doesn’t seem like a guy many times will give up major league ready talent for. He could be packaged in a larger deal but once again, the returns would be minimal.
After getting the loss on Wednesday, Gee fell to 7-8 on the season. Despite his down year in wins, he’s still on pace to have one of his lowest ERA’s and is ever dependent as an innings eater. He averages over 6 innings pitched per start and seems to be out there as often as he’s able to be.
Gee is an interesting case and we can all expect the Mets to have a much different look in 2015. With so much young talent and only so many innings to go around, tough decisions are going to have to be made. Gee seems like the kind of guy that could easily lose his job if things don’t break his way.
Do you think Gee will crack the starting rotation in 2015?
