Trevor asks…

Are we to believe that the plan for 2018 is to go with the same five starting pitchers of Syndergaard, deGrom, Matz, Harvey and Wheeler? The same rotation that saw four of them spend significant time on the DL which ended up wiping out our season? Shouldn’t we go out and sign or trade for a reliable workhorse type pitcher who can give us 35 starts? If we had a pitcher like that to go with deGrom, we probably would be in the playoffs this season.

Rob replies…

Hey Trevor, thanks for the question!

The Mets mindset going into the 2017 season was “Pitching is our strength,” and rightfully so.

There has been so much emphasis put on pitching for New York that no one thought it would be the team’s weakness this year.

Even if one or two of the pitchers you mentioned in your question got hurt, Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo could easily slot into the rotation to soften the blow.

Having seven good starting pitching options, the Mets thought, should be enough. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as all the pitchers minus deGrom have dealt with some sort of injury this year.

With Matt Harvey‘s string of injuries the last couple seasons, Noah Syndergaard returning from a partially torn lat muscle and Gsellman and Lugo each spending time on the disabled list this year, I do think the Mets should go out and sign an arm or two this offseason.

While I doubt the Mets dole out the money to sign someone like Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish with other holes needing to be filled, there are several options the Mets could consider signing as protection in case the injury bug hits the team again.

Jason Vargas is having a nice campaign with the Kansas City Royals, pitching to a 12-4 record with a 3.06 ERA, 4.05 FIP and 1.220 WHIP in 18 games started.

The 35-year-old who just appeared in his first All-Star game could make sense for the Mets on a one-year pact.

Another pitcher the Mets could potentially consider on a short-term deal is Chris Tillman.

Tillman, 29, has started 30+ games each of the last four seasons and pitched to a 16-6 record last year for Baltimore.

While the righty is having a scary year, pitching to a 1-5 record with a 7.20 ERA, there’s reason to believe he could correct himself and get closer to his career mark of 4.28 which is in line with the numbers he was producing from 2013-16.

The nine-year veteran could latch on with the Mets on a one-year deal to try and rebuild his value. He’s young enough and if he has a decent year with the Mets, could find himself a longer contract following the 2018 season.

A few other names that would be good fits for the Mets should they decide to dabble in the free agent market for a starter are Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, Jaime Garcia and Tyler Chatwood.

Beyond the Mets current options, the alternatives in the system are scarce. Tyler Pill can spot start, but it’s improbable he projects well over an extended period, and Rafael Montero has never been able to live up to the promise he showed years ago.

Hopefully, with all seven rotation options the Mets had going in 2017 returning next year, the team won’t have the misfortunes they did this season and they won’t end up needing external help.

However, if this year has proven anything, it’s that you can never have too much pitching and I think it would be wise for the Mets to bring in another arm or two next spring.