NEW YORK -- In his own words, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is “frankly never really concerned about having too much” starting pitching, because he’s been around long enough to know there’s no such thing.
Entering this week, the most common question surrounding the red-hot Mets was what might happen once Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea return from the injured list. Already, the Mets had demoted one useful starter, Paul Blackburn, to the bullpen due to lack of rotation space. The prospect of adding two more healthy pitchers to the mix seemed chaotic.
Then Kodai Senga hit the IL with a right hamstring strain, Montas gave up eight runs in his latest Minor League rehab start, Blackburn allowed four more out of the Mets’ bullpen Friday and, to top it all off, Tylor Megill submitted by far his worst start of the season Saturday in an 8-4 loss to the Rays at Citi Field. Combine that with a few more pressure points bubbling to the surface, and New York’s cache of rotation arms suddenly doesn’t seem quite so deep.
Asked earlier this week about his team’s pitching surplus, manager Carlos Mendoza audibly chuckled, understanding the fragility of even the strongest-seeming situations. The Mets have since given him even more reason to fret.
“As I’ve experienced throughout my career,” Stearns said, “it’s very, very rare where you actually get to the point where you have too many starting pitchers than you can roster.”
Saturday, Megill couldn’t escape the fourth inning, in part because of his own throwing error that ignited a five-run Rays rally. All told, the right-hander gave up a season-high six runs (three earned).
“He kind of spiraled -- base hit, base hit,” Mendoza said. “I felt like there were a lot of non-competitive pitches.”
Although it was the worst start of the season for Megill, he’s been trending in this direction for some time. Through five starts, Megill sported a 1.09 ERA, which seemed like vindication for a pitcher who has always possessed elite stuff. But Megill has since pitched to a 5.56 ERA in nine outings. His overall 3.95 mark looks a lot more like what’s on the back of his baseball card.
For the Mets, however, Megill is hardly the only culprit.
- Sunday’s scheduled starter, Griffin Canning, held a 2.36 ERA through his first eight starts before producing a 4.84 mark in five outings since.
- Blackburn was excellent in a spot start in Los Angeles on June 2; not so much since moving to the bullpen. He’ll return to the rotation Wednesday in an unhospitable environment in Atlanta.
- Clay Holmes mostly had his way with the Rays on Friday, but the Mets removed him after 79 pitches in what Mendoza called a scripted move to maximize his long-term health. The bullpen subsequently blew that game.
That’s not to say the rotation is in trouble. Far from it. Asked if he feels like this stretch has tested the Mets’ rotation depth, Mendoza replied: “Not really. It’s going to happen.”
The reality is things don’t change that quickly. In a pair of press conferences earlier this week, Mendoza and Stearns were asked question after complimentary question about pitching coaches Jeremy Hefner and Desi Druschel, who have turned a seemingly ragtag group of pitchers into an elite starting unit. David Peterson is enjoying by far his best season. Manaea, who reported to Spring Training as the Mets’ de facto ace, is due back from the injured list within 2-3 weeks. Holmes has been solid, and the Mets have a trio of intriguing prospects -- Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong -- who could contribute before the end of the year.
If all else fails, the Mets can always pursue starting pitching at the Trade Deadline. These are the luxuries of a big-market team.
Even without help, the Mets have plenty of room to regress and still possess a well-above-average starting unit. Megill’s poor outing only bumped the Mets’ rotation ERA to 2.82, which still leads the Majors by a relatively wide margin.
For the moment, the Mets’ rotation issues are concerns and quibbles -- nothing more. How they deal with those concerns and quibbles, however, could go a long way toward determining the ultimate success or failure of this club.
“For now,” Stearns said, “I am very happy with how the group that we’ve had to this point has pitched. I’m excited that we continue to get healthier and get guys like Frankie and then ultimately Sean back in the rotation. I think that will make us stronger -- certainly deeper. And so that’s where my mind is right now.”