Going into the 2020 season, the Mets endured a big loss by not bringing back Zack Wheeler who put up nearly 9 fWAR for them in 2018-19. What hurt even more was Wheeler staying in the division with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Even still, the hope was that Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard could lead the rotation, while Marcus Stroman, Steven Matz and one of Rick Porcello or Michael Wacha could combine to give the Mets as strong of a rotation they’ve had in years past, especially in 2019.
However, with Noah Syndergaard tearing his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), the pitcher is now sidelined for all of this year and potentially most of 2021.
Without Syndergaard in the rotation, things look a lot bleaker. Losing Wheeler and now Syndergaard means Stroman has some big shoes to fill as the team’s No. 2 starter, while Steven Matz has to be a No. 3 equal to what Stroman would have given them, and Porcello and Wacha need to be much better than advertised.
Beyond those five names, the team doesn’t have much reinforcements to write home about. This offseason they inked Pedro Payano and claimed Stephen Gonsalves off waivers from the Minnesota Twins who will likely both get chances in the rotation, but the team lacks big prospect star power.
In just a calendar year, the Mets have shipped off their top two pitching prospects in Justin Dunn and Anthony Kay. The closest to the majors now is former first rounder David Peterson who looks as though his ceiling is that of a back end of a rotation guy.
Of course, baseball is unpredictable. Some guys can over perform and sometimes unlikely heroes can present themselves. And with the novel coronavirus rocking the world, it’s hard to know if the 2020 season will even get played.
But really for the Mets, they are in a tough spot not just now, but this winter as well.
With Syndergaard out of the equation, the Mets have to try their best to now lock up Marcus Stroman to keep the rotation competitive, but external additions don’t provide a rosy outlook.
The 2021 free agent class for starters isn’t exactly gleaning with studs. Sure, there are some appealing names in James Paxton, Trevor Bauer and Robbie Ray, but there are mostly some mid-rotation guys available.
The Mets can’t even really go the trade route due to the sad state of their farm and risking depleting it even more than it already has been.
Of course, we are getting ahead of ourselves here, but the Syndergaard injury and loss of Wheeler are two huge blows to a rotation that just several months ago was in conversation for one of the best in the game. Now? Not so much.
