At the beginning of Spring Training, Dillon Gee made it clear he would much rather be in the starting rotation rather than in the bullpen.
Still, he embraced his new role – at least in public – while dealing with the challenges which came with being a reliever for the first time in his career.
But on Monday, Gee got what he wanted to begin with, if only by default when Terry Collins told reporters he would replace Zack Wheeler in the starting rotation.
“It’s why he’s here. He’ll be that guy,” Collins said of Gee on Monday.
Still, Gee would rather have won a job in the rotation by merit, rather than as an injury replacement.
“I told Zack this [Monday]… ‘I would rather be pitching in the bullpen than have this happen to you.’ And I mean that from the bottom of my heart,” Gee told Dan Martin of the New York Post. “I hope that at this point now, I can just help the team in that regard.”
Gee has quite a road ahead of him with under three weeks to go until Opening Day. He will start tomorrow, but he hasn’t started in two weeks and hasn’t thrown more than an inning or two in any given outing, so he has work to do to build arm strength and stamina in a relatively short period of time.
The Mets could opt to keep him in Port St. Lucie and make a start in extended camp or minor league games to build his innings up. They wouldn’t need him until April 11 against the Braves assuming they keep everyone in turn, meaning he can throw either April 5 or 6 and get regular rest between starts.
Gee has dealt with unusual conditions all spring, along with questions and awkwardness about his place on the roster. But Gee is a pro and a veteran, and if he’s comfortable once again, I expect he’ll be ready.
Just Mets 