Before Dillon Gee injured his groin, the Mets were likely to use a sixth starter during their current 20-game stretch.
However, that is no longer the case.
Terry Collins said on Sunday the Mets will use their five-man rotation through the next 18 games and will not use a sixth starter at this time, barring anything unforeseen, according to Mike Vorkunov of the Star Ledger.
There could be a couple of things in play with this decision.
On Friday, Sandy Alderson said a reason Steven Matz was passed over for the promotion to replace Dillon Gee was because of a lack of innings and experience at Triple-A. There’s nothing in the next two weeks which will change that issue significantly, and that means there’s really nobody else to make that start. They’d be hard pressed to use Carlos Torres in that start considering he’s being used primarily in short- relief.
Also, it’s possible Gee himself could eventually slot in and be a sixth pitcher in the rotation. He will only miss nine or ten more days if all goes well – they can always slot him in at the end of the next turn or two, and figure out what’s next after that.
Lastly, the starters were a little less consistent and crisp with their stuff as they’ve been spread out over the last couple of weeks. It’s all designed with good intentions, specifically for Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom and the effort to limit their innings. That is on the pitchers and the staff to adjust as needed, but if it’s creating other problems, they have to figure out a way to ensure their performances aren’t compromised in the process.
Just Mets 