As the Mets prepare to play the rubber game of their three-game set in Philadephia today, they may be asking themselves about their starting rotation wondering whether it has the overall look of a group that is struggling right now or if it is this just a speed bump in the early going of the 2019 season?
My hunch tells me that this is just a temporary thing, but you wonder if the team is considering reinforcements as we have all heard the Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel debates. Both are very talented hurlers but the cost will be high both in terms of salary and committed years. There is the outside chance that one of them might take a high ended one-year pact trying to set the bar very high for next year’s free agent class, but Keuchel is a much more realistic hope to consider that alternative than Kimbrel.
And the Mets have gotten some really bad first inning stints from their starters in the past week with both Jason Vargas and Steven Matz being lit up like an Independence Day Roman candle not surviving the first frame of their respective starts. But I really do not believe it is time to panic as we are still in the month of April. That being said, the performances are a bit troubling and speak to the uncertainties of starting pitching in this sport.
If I were the Mets, I’d try to play both sides of the fence here, By that I mean, keep talking to Keuchel but leak that out to the media so guys like Vargas and Matz begin to feel the heat a bit. That may be the additional motivation that they need to right the ship. At the same time, try to get Keuchel anyway because it would make this rotation better by providing the depth all winning teams need.
As far as Kimbrel is concerned, entertain that as well making it a Plan B. That I plan would involve sticking him in the bullpen and moving Seth Lugo to the rotation. All that would take time as you need to lengthen Lugo out while prepping Kimbrel for major league duty. That brings us to an interesting point with Keuchel–how much time will he need to prep for the season? And that info should be used in assessing a fair market price for him.
Honestly, I am not that worried about Matz–last night was one of those nights but with Vargas, I am very concerned as his command of the strike zone has been awful so far as he walked three batters in his last start while only recording one out the entire game. Keuchel would be a great replacement for Vargas. Getting him won’t be easy but it will both keep him away from the rest of the pitching staffs in the NL East while giving the Mets a quintet of starters that would make the Amazins the best rotation in baseball and the envy of every team in the sport.
Get him in a Mets uniform and start readying him for the season–It is time to open the wallet and get it done. It would also give the Mets added depth in future years should someone like Zack Wheeler walk away in free agency. It just makes sense on a number of levels and time to do this is right now.
