Just Mets

Dillon Gee strained his groin muscle during a start against the Nationals on May 3. He was preparing to make his next start on May 9, but was shutdown and placed on the disabled list, retroactive to May 4.

Gee has departed for the team’s minor league complex in Port St. Lucie, Florida to begin baseball activities. He has been throwing for most of the week, and he will make his first rehab start with Single-A St. Lucie tonight.

While Gee has progressed, Sandy Alderson labeled Gee returning on Tuesday as, “aggressive,” suggesting it is unlikely he will return when eligible on that date.

That likely means the Mets will have Noah Syndergaard make at least two starts before needing to make a decision on what to do with both. Syndergaard will start on Sunday against the Brewers, and then again next Friday against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

These things have a tendency to work themselves out. If there’s another injury or Syndergaard underperforms, there’s a place for Gee in the rotation by default.

However, it’s quite possible the Mets will have six starting pitchers for five spots by this time next week. The Mets have said they’re unlikely to use a sixth starting pitcher at any point during this stretch of 20 consecutive games, although it’s conceivable they still could and use Gee as that spot starter.

If they did use a spot starter, the most logical date to do so would be next Saturday against the Pirates. That would give Harvey five full days of rest in two consecutive starts. They could simply bump everyone up one day and slot Gee in next Saturday. That would prolong having to make a decision on the starting rotation as well, assuming Gee is ready to go by then.

Whatever they decide to do, if Syndergaard pitches well, it’s going to be difficult to justify taking him out of the rotation when they have to make a decision. That could mean Gee is eventually heading to the bullpen, although there’s no evidence he can be effective in that roll.

They could also try to find a trade for Gee or another member of the rotation at that point. Teams often use Memorial Day as an evaluation point in the season, meaning they could start to identify needs at that juncture.

That doesn’t mean a market will develop for any of the Mets starters, and it doesn’t mean the Mets will trade anyone anyway. They’ve been very open about their desire to retain their starting pitching in the event of an injury, and so far, that retention has paid off considerably for them.

But eventually, good problems like this create awkwardness, uncertainty and discomfort, as Gee has experienced pretty much for the last three months.

With the Mets sorely needing to augment the roster from a position player perspective, it might be in the best interest for both parties to explore how to parlay their excess to fill that need.

Gee is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 30 1/3 innings over five starts this season. In his three starts before going on the disabled list, Gee was 0-1 with a 1.83 ERA, having allowed 20 hits and six walks with 11 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.

Original post, 10:56 am, updated 4:40 pm