Reese Kaplan -- Atlanta Weather Offers 2 More Days of Pitcher Rest

Well, the hurricane-caused advance cancellation of the 2nd and 3rd games of the Mets/Braves series to help determine playoff positioning.  

It was also supposed to be the return of Francisco Lindor to the field after his time off to allow time for his back to heal.  

The question now is what are the Mets going to do with this schedule change provided by the weather?

It would seem that the first question the Mets need to face is how to align their pitching.  The two days off that were not expected are giving the club the opportunity to align their starting rotation however they choose as they head into Milwaukee for the final three scheduled games of the 2024 season.  

Word has filtered out that the Mets and Braves will play a doubleheader on Monday if the postseason positioning has not yet been secured by a 3-0 or 0-3 record against the Brewers.  Of course, how the Mets do also involves how the Braves handle their previously scheduled final three games at home against the Kansas City Royals.

For the Mets, they just used Luis Severino against the Braves on Tuesday so he is not likely going to be changed out of his normal number of days of rest.  However, going back to Sunday the Mets saw a short 4-inning challenging start by Tylor Megill that eventually turned into a victory.  

Prior to that was Sean Manaea winning his game.  Before that on Friday it was David Peterson taking a loss highlighted by a 6-run Phillies inning.  Before that again it was Luis Severino.  Missing in the immediate past was a start by Jose Quintana.

So if we do the math you have to consider who you want starting in Milwaukee.  From Sunday to Friday you have four full days of rest for Megill.  You have five full days of rest for Manaea.  You have six full days of rest for Peterson.  You have even more rest for Quintana.  Then, of course, there is Severino coming off two less than stellar starts in succession. 

From the perspective of give it all you can to make it to October, the Mets need to choose very carefully who they want against the Brewers.  It would seem that you have sufficient rest to start off with their de facto ace Manaea to try to win the first game.  After that it becomes more of a guessing game.  

Neither Peterson nor Megill have instilled a lot of long term confidence in previous seasons but this year have been far better than they have in the past.  Free agent to be Quintana is a veteran presence and another lefty if they feel lefties fare better than righties in Milwaukee.  If so, then David Peterson might be the third option. 

Of course, going all lefty against the Brewers would leave Tylor Megill and Luis Severino for Monday’s doubleheader if necessary.  It’s not ideal but it would also seem that other than Manaea there is no virtual certainty of a strong start. 

The other factor to consider for this coming weekend was the recently discussed proper way to use Francisco Lindor when he returns.  I’ve already opined that DH is a smarter move for him than playing the field, but given his defensive reputation it is more likely they will let him return to shortstop.  

That then leaves the question about the short term success of Luisangel Acuna and whether he rides the pines (or whatever the benches are made of these days), or if that role goes to J.D. Martinez with Mark Vientos taking over as DH. 

It’s great to be in the thick of a crazy last minute fight for October but the stress is definitely going to be telling.  Some react well to the most challenging situations while others crumble.  While it’s not expected that would happen with Acuna, the fact is that most managers will opt to trot out veterans which would make him a role player who could substitute for speed and defense after pinch hitting.