Just Mets

Noah Syndergaard’s Major League career got off to a promising start on Tuesday night after he allowed three runs with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

He is the projected starter for the Mets in their series finale against the Brewers on Sunday at Citi Field.

If all goes well on Sunday, he could very well make a case to remain in the starting rotation for the immediate future, even when Dillon Gee returns from the disabled list, Assistant GM John Ricco told Mike Vorkunov of the Star Ledger.

According to Vorkunov, Ricco said the club will evaluate how Syndergaard pitches in these early starts and make a determination when Gee returns.

Gee can return from the disabled list on May 19. He suffered a strained groin in his start against the Nationals on May 3, and he was placed on the disabled list on Saturday, retroactive to May 4.

The question is, if Syndergaard pitches well and remains in the rotation, what will the club do with Gee?

He’s never pitched in a relief role, and he had trouble adapting to the life of a reliever during camp. It’s not something either Gee or the team can just snap their fingers and make happen either.

Take Daisuke Matsuzaka as an example of this. Over the course of last year, there were several people with the organization who became frustrated with how long it took Matsuzaka to get ready to make a relief appearance. Often times, he’d been seen throwing in the bullpen for upwards of two innings just to make a one inning appearance. When his hat was off, he wasn’t close to being ready. when it was on, he was close or ready. Sometimes, he couldn’t get ready fast enough, and that cost the Mets on several occasions.

The point is, Matsuzaka wasn’t a reliever and was being asked to be something he wasn’t.

As for Gee, he is a pro, a trooper and always says the right things, but there’s just no evidence he can do any of this.

This is pure speculation, but the Mets could conceivably send Gee on a rehab assignment and take a crash course as a reliever for a couple of weeks. That would prolong having to make any changes to the active roster while they see if he can handle it. For what it’s worth, this team could use a long reliever with Carlos Torres pitching in short relief for the time being although that could change soon with Bobby Parnell and Vic Black progressing with their rehabs.

Obviously, that would suggest Syndergaard is remaining in the rotation. However, if Parnell and Black are in fact getting closer, something is going to have to give, and with Gee not a reliever by trade, it’s fair to wonder if he could be the odd man out sooner rather than later.