Just Mets

The Mets received their second bout of very bad injury news in a week, only this time it hit one of their core starting pitchers.

And, I mean, very bad.

The Mets announced on Monday an MRI on RHP Zack Wheeler’s right elbow revealed a completely torn ulnar collateral ligament, and he could be headed for Tommy John Surgery soon.

Wheeler will travel to New York to visit with Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery to discuss the next steps.

As for now, I am in utter shock as I write about this. The news is unquestionably a deep blow for the organization. Not only would Wheeler miss the entire season should he undergo Tommy John Surgery, but the impact has far greater ramifications on the rotation, escalation of prospects, as well as Wheeler’s continued development and maturity.

Over the weekend, the team expressed minimal concern for Wheeler’s condition, noting he has dealt with various degrees of elbow discomfort throughout his professional career. The team originally did not dispatch Wheeler for an MRI, but changed course early Saturday.

In a way, the Mets are lucky. While it seemed obvious they should have moved starting pitching over the winter, once again I credit this front office with having the foresight to predict massive injury and mitigate the risk against that, even as they downplayed the nature of Wheeler’s condition over the weekend.

Still, I don’t feel any better about this. It’s hard to replace Wheeler’s talent regardless of depth.

For now, it’s safe to assume Dillon Gee will go back in the rotation, a place he is most comfortable. But this also has to put Noah Syndergaard on their short-term radar as well. That’s not to say they think he’s ready, but it will certainly extend their look at him rather than demoting him to stretch out the other starting pitchers over the next couple of weeks.

I just feel like this organization simply cannot catch a break. Just as Matt Harvey remerges onto the team’s landscape, they lose another key arm. All I wanted to see was Wheeler grow alongside Harvey again and together be what we’ve all been waiting for since Harvey had surgery, just as it was meant to be three and four years ago. Hell, even Terry Collins has said this spring he had a ton of hope and faith in Wheeler based on his tremendous growth in the second half last year.

It now has to wait, probably at least a year, and that, along with it’s implications, hurts…

Read MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo’s complete story on Wheeler here.