The bubble wrap surrounding the Mets’ rotation has largely been removed.
After an initial period of easing in especially Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler — all of whom were coming off surgery or rehab — team brass has essentially removed all shackles from the rotation, which should have a residual effect of lightening an overused bullpen’s workload.
The last full turn in the rotation saw four Mets starters — Robert Gsellman, Noah Syndergaard, Harvey and Wheeler — finish seven innings and average 106 pitches. DeGrom had the shortest outing in the circuit, lasting just 5 ²/₃ innings against the Nationals on Saturday, but still throwing 101 pitches.
“I think 105, 110 pitches, two out of three outings, three outings in a row, that shouldn’t be that [restrictive] and we can always throw in a spot starter from time to time,” general manager Sandy Alderson said, adding that Rafael Montero could be used as that sixth starter.
With the starters working deeper into games, the Mets bullpen has received a relatively light workload in recent games after a hectic pace. Even so, Jerry Blevins, Hansel Robles, Addison Reed and Fernando Salas are each on pace to appear in at least 80 games, an alarming number.
“You’ve got to score some runs and then you don’t put pressure on either group,” Alderson said, referring to the rotation and bullpen. “Our starting pitchers at this point of the season in most cases can go 105, 110 pitches, but we certainly can’t overuse the bullpen to the point where they are getting worn out early in the season.”
But the Mets have also played two extra-inning games in the last week, adding additional strain to the bullpen. Ideally, Alderson would like to shuttle relievers in and out from Triple-A Las Vegas to help keep the bullpen rested. But injuries to Seth Lugo and Erik Goeddel, among others, has depleted the depth.
Lugo is on the disabled list with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and Goeddel recently resumed pitching for Las Vegas after incurring a lat strain in spring training.
“It’s just that right now all of our options on the 40-man roster have been limited,” Alderson said.
It means the Mets will need to continue receiving length from their starters or risk burning out the bullpen.
“The starting pitchers have been pretty good, except in those cases where they haven’t gone deep into the game,” Alderson said. “The bullpen hasn’t been that bad, but we get late in the game and we’re just not scoring any runs.”