Five Things We Learned From Zack Scott on Monday

With the July 30th Trade Deadline quickly approaching, New York Mets acting General Manager Zack Scott met with reporters on Monday afternoon at Citi Field.

Scott fielded a number of questions on numerous topics ranging from some injury updates, to the Mets’ deadline plans, and how he’d feel about potentially making a trade within the National League East. Here are some of the key points.

More Starting Pitching?

There’s no denying one of the biggest needs for the Scott and the Mets at the moment is starting pitching. Over the past few weeks, both their rotation and depth as taken a massive hit with numerous different injuries.

Youngster Tylor Megill has jumped into the rotation and pitched admirably, but it feels like every other day their starter is TBA until the day of. Scott already made a solid addition, picking up Rich Hill from the Tampa Bay Rays last week.

However, there’s certainly still work to be done in this department. Scott was asked, even with the addition of Hill, if he still views starting pitching as the Mets’ top priority ahead of Friday afternoon’s deadline.

Scott said, “Adding Rich definitely helps, but I still think we need to improve and just have more depth there. Obviously we have some guys on the cusp of returning, but we need to make sure we put our best foot forward in terms of getting the most pitching depth that we can.”

Jose Berrios and Max Scherzer are the two top options on the starting pitching market. Some of the more depth options are Scott referred to include Jon Gray, Tyler Anderson, Charlie Morton, Michael Pineda, and Alex Cobb amongst others.

Potential Trade Within NL East

Speaking of Max Scherzer, Scott was also asked about his thoughts about potentially trading within the National League East. While it wasn’t asked directly, the question was obviously pertaining to Scherzer and the Washington Nationals.

“I don’t have any problem dealing within our division, some other teams may feel different. I always think we have to look at what’s best for the club both short and long-term, sometimes dealing within the division is the way to do that,” Scott said.

He added, “there are times I’ve seen, you teams have an in-division tax. It’s not clear wether that is the case now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is for some players. But I don’t think we should be afraid to make moves to improve our club.”

SNY’s Andy Martino reported on Sunday afternoon that Scott and the Mets intend to at least check in with the Nationals about their ace, though it is not yet known if GM Mike Rizzo would pull the trigger on a deal with an NL East opponent.

Scherzer would certainly provide a massive boost to an already strong Mets starting rotation. A duo of him and an eventually healthy Jacob deGrom, more on that in a minute, would be as strong as it gets.

The 3x-Cy Young award winner is 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 142 strikeouts over 105 innings pitching this season. The Mets certainly seem to be open to the idea, I guess we’ll see if Washington is as well.

DeGrom, Lindor Update

Scott also was asked about the status of his two injured superstars Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor ad they recover from their respective injuries.

I’ll start with the ace. Jacob deGrom, who is working his way back from right elbow soreness, threw a light bullpen session off a mound on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. Everything went well, he played catch today, and is expected to throw another side in the next few days.

Scott said like all of his injures thus far this season, this one should be short-term, and he “fully expect him to come back and make a positive impact on the club the rest of the way.”

It sounds like deGrom is making solid progress, and should be good to go sooner rather than later. Lindor, on the other hand, is still looking at a return in the 3-5 week type of area.

Lindor, of course, landed on the injured list last week after suffering a right oblique strain on a swing against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He still hasn’t made any progress, but if Scott’s timeline is accurate, he’d look to return around early August.

With that in mind, Scott was asked about potentially acquiring a shortstop to fill-in for Lindor for the meantime.

“Sure, we’re open-minded with that. I fully expect Francisco to comeback and be our shortstop. I think we have some decent options to help us win in the short-term. But yeah, we’re open-minded to if there are other options that could also have versatility to help us when Francisco does come back, those are things we’d explore,” Scott said.

Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story or Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez are probably the two top targets that would fit under this category. Both infielders are set to become free-agents at the end of the season.

Syndergaard/Carrasco Update

In the near-term on the injury-front, the Mets could expect to see right-hander Carlos Carrasco return to the team real soon.

“Carlos threw really well in his outing yesterday, so we’re encouraged by that. We need to have some conversations with out medical staff, our coaching staff, and with Carlos about the next step. But I think there’s a decent chance he’ll be with the club soon,” Scott said.

Carrasco threw three shutout innings, allowed just two singles, and struck out six on Sunday afternoon for Triple-A Syracuse. Mets manager Luis Rojas confirmed there’s a “real chance” Carrasco makes his Mets debut sometime this weekend.

It’s been a long road back for the veteran right-hander. Speaking of long road’s back, Noah Syndergaard still has a ways to go before he potentially (hopefully) makes a return to the big league club.

Scott emphasized no decision has been made regarding Syndergaard’s role, but he did leave the door open to the big right-hander potentially joining the team late in the season as a reliever.

“Someone of the quality of Noah Syndergaard can help us in different capacities, wether that’s as a reliever or as a starter. We’d be thrilled just having him, and having that arm available to get important outs,” Scott said.

Syndergaard, of course, was working his way back from Tommy John surgery earlier in the season. He made two rehab appearance before being shut down with inflammation in his right elbow.

He resumed playing catch earlier this month. Syndergaard is set to become a free-agent at the end of the season, hopefully he is able to make it back to the team for the run, and this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him in a Mets uniform.

Kumar Rocker Update

Mets first-round pick Kumar Rocker was set to come to New York late last week to undergo his physical and sign his deal with the team.

However, according to MMO’s own Jack Ramsey, there was an issue with Rocker’s medicals and no deal has been signed yet. Although, it is still expected that Rocker will end up signing his deal with the Mets.

When asked about any potential issue on Monday afternoon, Scott declined to comment.

“I’m not going to comment on any drafted players. There’s an August 1st signing deadline, our plan is to address all 20 players situations at that time. We’re not going to comment on any one individual at this time,” Scott said.

Rocker and the Mets reportedly agreed on financial terms, and as Ramsey reported, the two sides are still expected to reach a deal despite the medical issue.