Tony Plate - Mets Still Undecided About Certain Things

       

                                               

Major League Baseball and all other major sports remain on hold as the nation continues to practice social distancing with the goal of slowing down the spread of the coronavirus. This is a time for the politicians in Congress and the Senate to finally bond together instead of resorting to arguments. Peace and unity are what this country needs to be able to focus on eliminating the virus so things in the US can get back to normal.

As the Mets continue to wait for the season to start, they are still undecided about certain things that pertain to the team and decisions need to be made. For example, who will be the fifth starter? It comes down to Matz vs Wacha. Since the Mets signed Wacha to a free agent contract there was talk of Matz going to the bullpen.

I think Matz should be the fifth starter, because he pitched well towards the end of 2019. The key for Matz is that he has to stay healthy in which he has been during the last couple of seasons plus he has been consistent. I don’t think Wacha will pitch like his early career form since he was years removed from that time so I feel he should be the spot starter.

Who will be the closer? Should the Mets go with a closer by committee? There is that much talent at the back end of the bullpen. Diaz and Familia have been the closers. They both struggled. Brodie had an expectation for Diaz after the big trade that brought him to the Mets, but he had tough year in 2019 that he would like to forget about.

After his 2019 performance Diaz is determined to regain his 2018 form in 2020 and show everyone that he can be the ideal closer the Mets had been lacking. Rojas thinks that the most important thing for Diaz is his game preparation and maintaining his confidence. In 2018 his bread and butter pitch was the slider, but in 2019 his slider was breaking differently which ended up hanging so batters sat on his fastball since his slider was off.

Jeurys Familia struggled with his control and confidence. He shed thirty pounds in an effort to rebound from an off year. He has worked with the Mets health and performance department to improve in every aspect of his preparation. He has spent time with Jeremy Hefner to better understand his mechanics and approach.

Hopefully his new build will not have a negative effect on his throwing motion. Betances and Lugo have been successful setup men who have been effective and should stay in the same roles. I think Diaz should be the closer and have the chance to regain his 2018 form.

In other Mets news, the Mets won’t be heading to Puerto this season to face the Marlins. Major League Baseball announced the cancellation of a three-game series between the two teams at Hiram Bithorn in San Juan from April 28-30, because of the coronavirus pandemic.