Zack Wheeler aims to return to the New York Mets’ starting rotation in 2017 after being sidelined for the past two seasons due to Tommy John surgery. It has been talked about within the organization that Wheeler will likely start the season in the bullpen, something he is not too keen on as he told Kevin Kernan of the NY Post.
“I know I belong in the starting rotation, there’s no question about that,’’ Wheeler said. “I’m a starter. I want to be a starter.’’
The Mets would like to ease Wheeler back into the starting rotation while limiting his innings by pitching out of the bullpen to start the upcoming season. Prior to yesterday, Wheeler had seemed completely on board with the idea. He now though brings to light some worries he has with coming out of the pen.
“I feel that guys that go to the bullpen get stuck in the bullpen, and I don’t want to do that,’’ Wheeler said. “Because either you are doing bad and you stay in the bullpen because you can’t be a starter or you are doing really good, and they can’t afford to move you out of the bullpen.”
“So you are going to get stuck there, and that’s why I’m trying to let everybody know that I’m not a bullpen guy, I’m a starter.’’
His concerns are true to an extent, it will be hard to truly showcase what he has with just an inning of work, here and there. On the other hand, if he is lights out while a good majority of the bullpen is struggling, they may not be so quick to move him from that role.
It is a quirky situation for the 26-year-old Wheeler to be in. He also questions his ability of being able to physically pitch on the erratic schedule of a reliever.
“I don’t even know if I could do every other day in the bullpen,’’ Wheeler said. “It was a struggle for me to get every fifth day. That’s because I’ve started my whole life. It’s the mindset, it’s physical, it’s what you’ve been doing your whole life.”
Overall in his major league career, Wheeler has pitched to an 18-16 record to go along with a 3.50 ERA and a WHIP of 1.34 in 49 career starts. He has proven to be successful when starting and believes he is ready to get back to where he was before his injury.
“I let it loose this offseason, it’s coming out good, I feel good,” Wheeler said. “But the real test will be when I throw off the mound here and put that last little bit on it, because that’s when it was barking last year.’’
This upcoming year will be a big one for Wheeler as he looks to prove that not only can he stay healthy but also that he can get back to being the pitcher we all expected him to be.
