I wrote yesterday about the depth in bullpen arms. The Mets also run 8 pitchers deep in starters who have enjoyed some Major League success and are already on the 40-man roster: Jacob deGrom, Carrasco, Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker, David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, Jordan Yamamoto, and Robert Gsellman. And, of course, a strong return by Noah Syndergaard in June would really add quality to all of this depth.
Obviously, you wouldn't have the same confidence in Gsellman starting a game as you would with Carlos Carrasco. That's not the point. The point is having starters available who potentially can pitch well enough to keep you in a game and give your team a chance to win. In previous years we've seen too many games that were essentially over by the third inning because the replacement starter brought up from the minors wasn't good enough to at least compete.
Even off the 40-man roster, some pitchers might potentially contribute something. Of the group slated to begin the season at the alternate site and eventually be on the Triple-A roster, Jerad Eickhoff, Harol Gonzalez, Mike Montgomery, and Corey Oswalt could conceivably help. However, it's nice not to be hanging my hopes on anyone in that group. In previous years pitchers like that would have likely been competing for the fifth starter slot. Now they comprise the very deepest of the pitching depth.
I hope that Carlos Carrasco doesn't miss too many early-season starts, but it helps that both Stroman and Taijuan Walker have looked really good in their early outings, and deGrom still looks like deGrom. The Mets are well set up for Carrasco to miss a start or two. It might even work out as a bit of a positive for Carrasco to get a slightly late start in a season where many teams will be utilizing different techniques to limit starters' innings.
3 comments:
I am not convinced Carrasco will miss any starts - yet. He can be rearranged into the season's 5th start, which should be around April 6. That would give him 3 1/2 weeks to get up to 80 pitches.
Unless really injured, veterans know how to deal with what hopefully is nothing more than a nuisance and get ready.
If not, Peterson and Lucchesi are both apt to get a few starts each coming out of the gate.
Tom, given that they're probably not looking for 200+ innings from the guy, it wouldn't be the worst thing if he missed a start, but I agree with you they could avoid it if they wanted to
Yep, Mike, in a few days, we'll see if this truly is normal early spring irritation that quickly subsides, or something more ominous. And I hope for close to 200 innings from him, including of course the playoffs.
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