Just Mets

Throughout the entire season and dating back to spring training as well, Terry Collins and the front office have been strict regarding the innings limits on their young starting pitching, speciifically Matt Harvey who is in his first year back after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

The Mets have shifted back and forth between variations of a five-man and six-man rotation since the end of April in an effort to manage their innings, but they’ve struggled to keep with a six-man rotation thanks to pitchers complaining about it, off-days, injuries, and other factors.

So for now, the Mets have been employing a five-man rotation since Steven Matz went on the disabled list in early July. That is expected to change, as Terry Collins said on Sunday the Mets will return to a six-man rotation when Matz returns in early September.

But that is still a month or more away, and while the healthy pitchers have not yet reached their limits, it’s going to become an issue soon.

“Right now, with them on this five-day plan, they’re going to get to those limits,” Collins said on Sunday. “And if they’re tired, they aren’t pitching anymore. We’ll worry about that down the road. Right now we can’t worry about it.”

The Mets will eventually use a spot starter one or more times in August to help manage the loads for their pitchers. It’s unclear if Logan Verrett, Carlos Torres, or Dillon Gee will make one or more of those starts.

But Collins believes the competitiveness and and domination is resulting in the pitchers staying in games longer.

“We’re walking that fine line right now because their competitiveness is driving them to dominate,” Collins explained. “When you dominate, you stay in games longer, which means you pitch more innings, which means you get closer to those numbers that we’ve got to be careful of. 

“That’s why we’re certainly very hopeful that we can get Steven back here, put that extra guy in there, because that will allow these guys to miss a start, at least. And that will get those numbers in the range we want them to be in,” Collins continued.

The Mets haven’t played in too many blowouts one way or another, so that impacts Collins’ ability to maneuver simply based on the need he has to keep these pitchers in these games. If he gets one, he can take advantage of those situations and save those innings for later in the year.

Collins wouldn’t rule out the possibility of shutting one or more of his young starters down to keep with their innings limits.

 “We aren’t even close to being there yet. When that point comes, then we can make decisions,” the manager explained. “But I’m not going to sit here and look at a crystal ball and be able to tell you this guy is not going to be able to pitch in the playoffs.”

Sandy Alderson clarified the strategy to the New York Post late last night, saying the innings limits on their starters are, “independent” of the playoffs.

Still, it’s hard to believe the club would undermine the core of their success this season by taking one or more of these guys out of the rotation down the stretch of a pennant race of a playoff run. Of course, long- term health and effectiveness has to be considered, and there’s no debating they need to do what’s in the best interest of these pitchers both for the short and long-term.

But there’s also the best interests of the team which has to be considered if they make it to the playoffs. After all, there’s no telling when opportunities like that could happen again.

Typically, the organization allows for a 30 inning bump from the prior year’s innings totals for their young pitchers.

DeGrom has pitched 133 1/3 innings in 2015. He threw 178 innings in 2014 between the minor and major leagues in 2014.

Syndergaard he thrown 124 innings between the minor and major leagues in 2015. He threw 133 innings in the minor leagues in 2014.

Matz has thrown 104 innings between the minor and major leagues in 2015. He threw 152 innings in the minor leagues in 2014, including the postseason.

As for Harvey, the club hasn’t publicly stated what his innings limit will be in 2015, although it’s believed to be no more than 200 innings this season. He has thrown 133 innings in 2015.