Marcus Stroman going on the injured list on Wednesday was a huge blow to the Mets rotation, and potentially their overall chances of making the playoffs in the 2020 shortened season.

The rotation took a big hit when Zack Wheeler left for the Phillies and another when Noah Syndergaard had Tommy John surgery. The Mets are certainly going into the 2020 season with a less than ideal rotation and starting pitching depth.

End of 2019 Mets Rotation 

Start of 2020 Mets Rotation

Yikes. That’s a big drop for a team looking to have playoff aspirations in the 2020 season and beyond given Stroman, Porcello, and Wacha will be free agents after the season.

We don’t know how long Stroman will be out, but in a short season any injury can turn out to be a significant blow. The injury leaves the Mets with three options for the fifth start essentially:

David Peterson – LHP

Peterson, the Mets first round pick in 2017, impressed in the original Spring Training and pitched well again in Summer Camp. The left-hander has seen his velocity more consistently in the 91-93 range during camp after being more 88-92 during the 2019 season.

The 24-year-old had a 4.19 ERA, 3.19 FIP, and 122 strikeouts in 119 innings for the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies last season. He’s allowed just 11 home runs in 247 minor league innings.

With Peterson back in the low 90’s with his fastball – combined with a good slider and average change – he would be my pick for the Mets fifth starter spot. The best upside of the options and he’s looked like a guy ready to pitch in the big leagues. He’s not currently on the 40-man roster, but would be added in the offseason anyway to protect from the Rule 5 draft.

Corey Oswalt – RHP

The 26-year-old actually had a stretch of six starts in 2018 when he posted a respectable 3.94 ERA with the Mets. After that, the Mets kind of messed around with him having no concrete role and shuttling him between Flushing and Triple-A.

Oswalt made two relief appearances for the Mets in 2019, allowing nine runs in 6 2/3 innings. Though, in hitter friendly Triple-A, he posted a 2.91 ERA and 5.27 SO/BB over 86 innings for Syracuse.

The former seventh round pick fared well in Spring Training with only one earned run allowed in eight innings. Oswalt, like Peterson, has shown better fastball velocity recently with him being more 92-94 instead of 90-93 previously. Oswalt is on the 40-man roster, meaning he might be the most convenient pick.

Erasmo Ramirez – RHP

The veteran is on a minor league deal with the Mets, though he has impressed throughout the two preseason camps. In eight Spring Training innings, Ramirez allowed only one earned run on five hits, three walks, and struck out 10.

Ramirez, 30, allowed four runs in three innings during his old big league outing in 2019. He struggled to a 6.50 ERA in 45 innings for the Mariners in 2018. The last time Ramirez had success in the big leagues was in 2017 with a 3.92 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 62 innings for the Mariners.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that Ramirez is ticketed for the taxi squad to start the season, but things can change pretty quickly as teams shuffle their rosters before the 12:00 p.m. ET deadline on Thursday.

Photo by Ed Delany, MMO

Other In-House Options

The other option that gets mentioned the most by fans, is moving Seth Lugo into the rotation. Mets manager Luis Rojas has been pretty adamant that won’t happen this year (of course injuries can change plans). Mets could use Lugo as an Opener, or they could use someone else in that role as well.

One option could also be to go with a bullpen day every time they need a fifth starter. On one hand you’ve got more arms with the 30-man roster, but it’s also a bullpen with huge question marks in Jeurys Familia, Edwin Diaz, and Dellin Betances. If that trio shows strong early, that could adjust the Mets plans.

They have starters Jordan Humphreys, Thomas Szapucki, and Franklyn Kilome on the 40-man roster, none of them have been mentioned as options though as the trio works back from TJS. Another name not mentioned by Rojas is lefty Stephen Gonsalves, he has made multiple starts in camp and is on the 40.

Finally, the Mets could try to push Jacob deGrom to start more often, which sounds good in theory except that he’s dealt with a back issue in an already unusual preparation for a short season. Doesn’t sound like a wise move with a long-term investment.

Free Agent Group Not Very Appealing 

Mets could decide to look outside of the organization for depth – much like they recently did signing Juan Lagares and Brian Dozier. Problem with that, the cupboards are pretty bare.

Let’s look at current starting pitcher free agents:

Frankly put, not much there. This could change as teams adjust their rosters in the coming days.

I’d Go With David Peterson

Mets certainly might go with Corey Oswalt given he’s on the 40-man roster already, but David Peterson is the best option to pitch the best in my opinion. If they chose Peterson to be the fifth starter, it’s likely Oswalt would be on the roster as well as the long man, so they can make that easy swap if need be.

footer