Reese Kaplan -- Three Candidates for Two Rotation Spots

By now it’s old news to Mets fans that there is a surgery needed for pitcher Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco.  With some of my Mets fan friends he’s already been dubbed “Jed” as a tribute to the last great savior who didn’t provide much of anything but check cashing to the Mets.  In Carrasco’s case it has been said 6-8 weeks for recovery.  With today being March 20th, if the estimates are right, that brings him to Queens to start pitching around May 10th.  While it’s not a huge portion of the season, it still means the Mets are somewhat caught short for starting pitching with Carrasco slated to miss somewhere around 11-12 starts.

What folks are kicking around right now is how the team plans to handle this hopefully short-term need.  They started off the year missing Noah Syndergaard and now they are down another planned starter.  These health issues leave them with Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker pretty much written down in ink.  That leaves question marks for slots number 4 and 5 that the team needs to address.

The first pitcher who was expected to be in the rotation was last year’s rookie, David Peterson.  As a minor leaguer he was an interesting prospect but really not in anyone’s top five.  His last full year was in Binghamton at the AA level where he turned in a 4.19 ERA with a rather high WHIP of 1.345.  His strikeout and walk numbers were good at nearly a 3:1 ratio, but he was giving up a significant number of hits.  

Being promoted to serve in the Major League straight from AA was a surprise but also a necessity.  His rookie campaign caught a great many by surprise when he turned in a better 3.44 ERA, a 6-2 record and an improved WHIP of 1.208.  Ironically his control seemed to abandon him with worse walk and strikeout numbers than in the recent past, but it’s hard to argue with the positive results.

This spring he was clearly the frontrunner to obtain starting slot number five.  After all, with the success he achieved last season it was a natural fit.  Unfortunately he’s not off to an equivalent start against the would-be hitters.  Right now over two starts he’s got a 4.50 ERA, only 1 strikeout and he’s given up one hit per inning pitched.  It’s not cause for great worry, but people were hoping for more solid production.

There are two newcomer additions to Port St. Lucie who are also vying for an opportunity to start.  Jordan Yamamoto was an acquisition from the Marlins who had designated him for assignment.  It was a little surprising given his 3.75 career minor league ERA, but his big league results were far worse.  Thus far he’s been a very pleasant surprise.  Through 8.1 IP he has a 1.08 ERA, has struck out 5 and given up 7 hits.  His WHIP is an eye popping 0.96.  He’s definitely under consideration, though he would need to be added to the 40-man roster.

The other interesting candidate would be left hander Joey Lucchesi.  Given the Mets’ dominance with right handed arms, he’s probably a notch above Yamamoto on the ladder to the majors.  He was acquired from the Padres as part of a three-team deal for 20 year old catching prospect Endy Rodriguez.  Thus far the Mets are probably happy with the deal.  Over 5 IP he has 7 Ks, a perfect 0.00 ERA and a WHIP of 0.60.  Given his more advanced player age of 27 with parts of three seasons pitching for San Diego where he turned in a career 4.21 ERA.  

The other alternative for the Mets to consider are the late Spring Training DFA wire for pitchers who signed with other teams but didn’t crack it in the rotation or the pen.  Think of how the Mets went after former major leaguer Mallex Smith as an example.  He’s highly unlikely to come north with the team and the Mets will need to decide if he has a potential fit in the future, stashing him in AAA.  Or they could decide to cut him loose and he’ll land somewhere else.  That’s the same situation the Mets find themselves but their need is a veteran starting pitcher who hasn’t landed anywhere else.  Finally, there are some free agents who have not yet signed.  Rick Porcello is one of them.  

If I was a guessing or betting man, I would volunteer they would go with Peterson due to his experience last season and Lucchesi due to his stellar performance and southpaw orientation.  Yamamoto will likely find himself in Syracuse.