On Friday, the Mets signed left-handed reliever Justin Wilson to help further bolster their revamped bullpen.
After the Wilson signing, the core of the ‘pen is now more or less set, with the Mets likely bringing in a couple more arms on just minor league deals to battle it out in Spring Training.
With their bullpen taken care of, New York should now shift their attention towards finding one more solid rotation option.
Earlier this week, I profiled several guys who the Mets could pursue on lower risk deals, including left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who would give the Mets a strong No. 5 starter and someone who has thrived at Citi Field.
The Mets already have a potent rotation, headed by Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom, fireballer Noah Syndergaard, rejuvenated Zack Wheeler and coming into his own Steven Matz. They also have veteran Jason Vargas for one more year, who got off to a rough start in 2018, but balanced it out as the season progressed.
However, beyond that, New York is rather thin in the starting department. They inked southpaw Hector Santiago to a minor league deal, but beyond that, some of their in-house options include Drew Gagnon, P.J. Conlon and Chris Flexen.
In a perfect world, the Mets won’t have to tap too deep into their starting rotation depth, but with rain-outs, starts skipped and a plethora of other reasons, spot starters are inevitable.
The Mets have done a tremendous job of bolstering their depth this winter, and they need to continue that trend by bringing in at least one more established starter, and even a couple guys on minor league deals.
Gonzalez is a player the team was linked to earlier in the offseason, but there are several other appealing names still on the market. Wade Miley had a strong campaign with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018 and could be a nice fit. Beyond that, Francisco Liriano, Clay Buchholz and Jeremy Hellickson are all serviceable pitchers who would help lengthen the rotation.
The rotation is more or less set as it is, but with Vargas’ struggles last season, some healthy competition is never a bad thing. If he’s outdone in spring, he can always be moved to the bullpen as a long man.
Bottom line is, the Mets need rotation depth and with a couple weeks until Spring Training, I expect general manager Brodie Van Wagenen to be active on that front.
