Just Mets

Earlier today, the Mets optioned Rafael Montero to Triple-A Las Vegas, but there was a specific purpose behind his assignment to the minors.

Montero will return to Las Vegas and make a start with the intention of returning him to the Mets in about ten days to serve as a spot starter in the rotation.

What happens after that is unclear, but it seems the Mets prefer Montero as a starting pitcher for the time being and will serve as a sixth man in the rotation temporarily.

Montero will start against the Marlins in Miami on April 28, according to Anthony Rieber Newsday.

It makes sense since his stint as a reliever didn’t go well over the first 12 days of the year here. To his credit, he has never really been a reliever until now, so it’s not a big surprise this experiment didn’t go as planned. He showed tremendous progress in camp as a starting pitcher and nearly won the fifth starter job ahead of Dillon Gee.

As for the spot start, this falls in line with what Sandy Alderson said throughout the winter regarding the maintenance of his young starting pitching. This is partly how the Mets intend to get Matt Harvey in particular through the end of the year and possibly October. The Mets have two off-days during the first week of May but then not another one until May 28, so the Mets are clearly trying to strategize during that stretch of 20 games in a row.

Also, if the Mets recall Montero within 20 days of his assignment, they don’t have to spend the player option on him for the year. As such, since the plan is to bring Montero back in a week or so, its worth watching what the Mets ultimately do with the rotation, how this impacts Gee (I assume he needs to pitch well in the immediate term) and whether or not Montero earns a place in it from that point forward.