We won’t go after the record setting pace of futility to start the 2024 campaign. It’s only been less than a week and there is plenty of times for the scales to go off on an imbalanced streak in the other direction. Suffice to say everyone would have preferred an inexplicable hot streak of a dozen or so games in a row without a loss to what has happened, but c’est la vie.
No, today is more a look at the roster manipulation that has already led to some puzzled expressions from Mets fans and media. A lot of it on the surface appears to have its roots in the rules of minor league demotions and the minimum amount of time a player must reside with the lower level team before he can be promoted back to the majors.
This issue arose as everyone assumed with Tylor Megill following his teammate Kodai Senga to the IL with a shoulder injury that the Mets would be looking to promote either Jose Butto or Joey Lucchesi to replace the Senga replacement with Megill now also on the shelf. It would seem to make sense and they each have options and 40-man roster space available. Yet that direction is not what the Mets front office chose to do.
Plan B in most folks’ mind would be to exercise the option on one of the baby Mets who have not yet made promotion for regular work in Queens. Whether it was Mike Vasil or anyone else down there, that move would have been a little surprising as you would be burning an option for 2024 rather early in what hopefully is a short term temporary need. Consequently this approach didn’t seem like a particularly wise one.
So going back to the younger and older veterans who have already pitched in AAA this season and available to move back and forth on the roster. There is a proviso in the minimum 10-day duration rule when injuries occur. Consequently the Mets could have exercised the move on one of these two gentleman and addressed the immediate need.
Instead, the Mets went off in a very different direction banking on both poor weather and a hopefully short term IL stay making the need for a new starter not as crucial as it might have been had the Senga injury or Megill injury forced a multi-week (or month) departure from the starting rotation. The Mets made the somewhat curious decision to promote relief pitcher Reed Garrett thinking that between rainouts and returns from the IL they could weather the storm in this manner.
For a frame of reference, Garrett is now age 31 and has played unsuccessfully for five major league teams beginning with a rookie call up with the Tigers in 2019, then in 2022 with the Nationals, then 2023 split between the Orioles and Mets. Overall he has a career major league ERA north of 7.00 so it was an unusual choice though likely one intended to free a roster space with J.D. Martinez needs to return to the major league roster in the next week or thereabouts.
So for a team that has yet to win a game and already down two starting pitchers, the Mets have taken an option-frugal route of fulfilling a need for someone who can take the mound. It’s unlikely Garrett will make a start unless the Mets plan a bullpen-squad game if the rain doesn’t provide them with forced days off. None of the available options were likely going to provide Kodai Senga level of performance.
Neither would Tylor Megill based upon his career and pre-season track record. Still, it would seem that the short term sacrifice of Garrett from the roster only partially solves the problem as it would still leave the team short of a pitcher. For that move the Mets are buying themselves more time to see how severe Megill’s injury is, how well Senga’s recovery is progressing and which 25th/26th level players on the roster like D.J. Stewart (who does have an option) can be farmed out if a longer term pitching solution is needed.
There is a final thought which might help explain the Reed move. There are a great many pitchers who have not yet landed on major league deals who could be evaluated as external options to add to the roster if negotiating a free agent deal was what David Stearns wanted to do. Then Garrett could be cut to make room if that happens before the return of Senga, Megill or Martinez were set to arrive.
Oh well, at least it gives folks something to talk about other than wins and losses.
6 comments:
The “Garrett will be used, then cut” potential seems very real. I don’t know which players are still out there, unsigned, but maybe that would be something to someone’s liking in the front office. At least with Tyler, he said that it’s nowhere near as serious as the issue that he had in 2022, that kept him out for three months, but it’s time couldn’t be worse for him, and perhaps for the Mets as well.
By the way, not only where the Mets rained out, but Syracuse was rained out as well. So the two teams remain at a combined one win and six losses. Meanwhile, Bryce Harper hits three home runs, including a grand slam, but at least, somehow, the Chicago White Sox beat Atlanta.
I think the rain forecast is for rain again tonight, which makes another rain out likely. I wonder if they might try to squeeze in a doubleheader tomorrow as a make up for these two games?
I have my seat reserved for tomorrow's DH. Popcorn, beer and hot dogs will be served.
You will have to "Reed" between the lines on this one, because we will never really know what the front office is up to.
Enjoy the hot dogs Ray!
The Mets will win in April, of this I have no doubt.
The Mets don't need a 5th SP until April 10th, regardless of the weather. Burning an option for one game doesn't make sense, and Butto and Lucchesi can't be recalled untol the 12th.
We could sign Teheran or someone else, hopefully one who could be optioned after the 10th.
Or, we could do a "bullpen game", which IMO makes sense, since we have a few who could go 3 IP if needed. No need to use the proverbial sledgehammer to kill a fly. If Megill isn't healed by the 15th, we can call up Butto or Lucchesi to fill the slot.
There's a team doing pretty well so far, whose leadoff man is hitting .174. The heart of the line-up 3-6 hitters are at .174, .125,.182, .150 and .143.
Are they panicking?
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