For Mets fans it came as no surprise that they received some disheartening (but likely expected) news that one of their prime weapons -- Jacob deGrom -- was getting an MRI to evaluate his reported shoulder tightness. After pitching to a 1.08 ERA last season but missing half the year with injury, everyone's alarm bells started clanging at maximum volume when this news broke.
Right away everyone is painting the various nightmare scenarios in which deGrom is unavailable for a major chunk of the season. The report says he's out for a 4-week stint to allow his shoulder to rest and heal. With a lack of confidence in Carlos Carrasco and concern over Taijuan Walker's repaired knee, folks are already writing off the demise of the entire 2022 season as a fait accompli.
While it's entirely possible that deGrom (or Max Scherzer or Pete Alonso or Starling Marte or whomever) could develop a health problem rendering them unable to deliver on a regular basis, let's not allow past history to color the current situation. The club has had to deal with a wide variety of major injuries, nagging injuries, illnesses and other developments which forced them to juggle the lineup more than was originally intended. Hopefully the award winning manager Buck Showalter shows a bit more talent in this regard than his various Mets predecessors.
Right away the conversation about starting pitching came to the forefront of fans' rhetoric given the blackness with which injuries are evaluated. The first name brought up was 2021's surprise emergency starter Tylor Megill who has looked pretty impressive during this late and short preseason. Even Al Leiter who visited camp made it a point to remark how impressed he was with Megill's composure and execution. Friday's early copy seemed to echo this belief as well.
Beyond Megill, however, it gets pretty murky quickly. David Peterson is recovering from injury. While it would be nice to have a lefty in the rotation, no one is totally convinced he is the right one given his uneven track record.
The next name up would likely be Trevor Williams who in 2021 was a solid arm for the club. His 5.06 ERA for the Cubs was not exactly inspiring, but for the Mets he appeared in a dozen games to the tune of a 3.06 mark. At age 30 he's not likely to morph into an All Star, but he is a backup plan if the first two can't take the pressure off the top five.
People are also sounding the alarm about making trades to bring in another starting pitcher. While the bullpen is likelier a long term problem for the club than the rotation, it's not a terrible idea.
Right now the best thing to do is take a deep breath, remember the season hasn't even started yet and there is the possibility that caution is a smart approach. Pushing the panic button accomplishes nothing and it's time the club addressed personnel issues with both patience and intelligence. This too shall pass.
7 comments:
Another guy who gets an elevated consideration is lefty Josh Walker. 4 innings, 1 run, 4 Ks this spring. Seems like the dark horse here. But he had a strong AA/AAA year in 2021 and surrenders few HRs. But he could use more AAA innings.
I posted a question on FB - should the Mets have re-signed the durable Stroman and traded deGrom for a king's ransom. People HATED Stroman and called him a clubhouse cancer. But maybe the Mets should have traded deGrom and signed another guy. Now watch Jake's season be really damaged and Thor throw 200 excellent innings.
Trade deGrom? Sacrilege. But my brother was very vocal about trading Harvey after his strong 2016 for a boatload - he was 100% right, the Wilpons wrong.
The answer wasn't to keep Gsellman - I saw he's allowed 8 runs in under 3 innings this spring.
I think this is Megill's opening. Conservatively, I think he wins 13. If they hit a lot for him, why not 17 or 18?
Walker could be an unexpected 26-28 man in the bullpen early on, but I think it's Megill's job to lose.
I agree about Walker..and the fact he is a lefty helps his cause.
One thing I would bet quite a bit on is that Thor ain't going to throw 200 innings this year, excellent or otherwise
This could have interesting ramifications on his decision to opt out at the end of 2022.......and what type of contract he
will end up with moving forward.
I am all for keeping your homegrown "stars" but his health is becoming a huge red flag.
I would offer Jake a unique contract - $50 million a year, but he is unpaid while on the IL. He'd probably pass. He might make $5 million on that one.
Like I said, sometimes adversity leads to opportunity, as Wally Pipp found out the hard way.
Of course, the rumor of Paddack and Hosmer for Smith is percolating, and we'll have to see if that trigger is pulled. Megill could be better than Paddack, though.
Paddock and Hosmer for Smith is a desperate move and I hate giving up guys who are ready to really break out and cost nothing and unlike the Cano/Diaz deal where Diaz was young and great who is Paddock that we'd take on Hosmer's contract for? Tom I'm with your brother on trading a guy a year to soon than a year to late and add in the Wright deal where we needed so much more than Dave and could have traded him for a bundle but of course the Wilponies wanted to save face. Lets also throw in the not signing Murphy and the letting go of Wheeler and now Thor is gone so we'll see how that play's out. I wanted Freeman who would have pushed Pete to more DHing but I'm sure they would have worked it out for Freddy but Hosmer?????
I think Paddock would be a good addition.
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