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MLB

Marcus Stroman exits early as Mets’ pitching nightmare continues

By
Zach Braziller
Published June 22, 2021
Updated June 23, 2021, 12:24 a.m. ET

The Mets’ pitching depth was already a problem, and then came Tuesday night.

Already without a fifth starter and a long man in the bullpen, they lost one of their top starting pitchers after just one inning. Marcus Stroman lasted just the first frame before leaving three pitches into the second inning with left hip soreness. He asked to remain in the game, but was clearly uncomfortable, unable to follow through on his warm-up pitches, and told manager Luis Rojas he may have hyperextended something in his hip after a pitch in the second inning.

“He wanted to stay in, but I think it was wise to come out,” Rojas said after the Mets’ 3-0 loss to the Braves, their sixth setback in eight games. “Just be cautious. You can hurt something else.”

Stroman is the latest injury to a pitching staff now besieged by them. Fifth starter Joey Lucchesi, in need of Tommy John surgery, is out for the season. Relievers Jeurys Familia (right hip impingement) and Robert Gsellman (torn lat) are on the injured list with Gsellmen unable to throw for six weeks. This has all happened in the past four days, reminiscent of the team losing a majority of its starting position players in May.

Losing Stroman would be by far the most severe blow, considering how well the right-hander has pitched and how important the top of the rotation has been to the Mets’ perch atop the NL East. With a 2.32 ERA, Stroman was having an All-Star caliber season. Rojas said he wasn’t sure how long Stroman would be out, citing the need for him to get evaluated further.

Marcus Stroman left Tuesday's loss early with hip soreness.
Marcus Stroman left Tuesday’s loss early with hip soreness. Robert Sabo

“We have to wait and see,” Rojas said of Stroman, who got tested for strength and range of motion in his hip after the game. “I think we may have caught it before it was something worse.”

For now, the Mets have lost most, if not all, of their starting pitching depth. On Wednesday, after the bullpen was used for eight innings on Tuesday, the Mets will be calling up prospect Tylor Megill to start. An eighth-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, he has pitched to a 3.77 ERA after being promoted to Triple-A Syracuse in early June.

There weren’t many other options. Noah Syndergaard isn’t expected back until September following a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Carlos Carrasco is still not throwing off a mound, and has yet to appear in a game this season after tearing his right hamstring during spring training. Jordan Yamamoto is only tossing lightly, and isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day IL until late July due to a shoulder injury. Prospect Thomas Szapucki has a 7.11 ERA for Syracuse this month.

It leaves the Mets with question marks for two-fifths of their rotation. But what can they do to remedy the issue?

“I think, realistically, we’re still in June. It’s not even July yet, so we’re still looking at a market that, the prices tend to be pretty high until you get closer to that deadline,” acting general manager Zack Scott said before the game. “I’m on the phone a lot still trying to see what is out there, what’s available to us and figure out what the acquisition costs are for any players.”

Veteran Jerad Eickhoff threw four shutout innings in the second game of Monday’s doubleheader, giving the Mets one possible option moving forward. They claimed hard-throwing right-hander Robert Stock off waivers from the Cubs on Tuesday and sent him to Syracuse. A reliever, Stock could at least help fill the void left by Gsellman.

Scott didn’t make it seem like the team was ready to make an impact addition because of the nature of the trade market, though that was before Stroman’s injury. If he has to miss significant time, the Mets may not have a choice but to make a splash.