If you take a look at the comments New York Mets’ fans post on Twitter, many of them complain about the team’s lineup needs for next season. Mets’ fans have compiled a wish list of free agent position players to fill the team’s various holes, such as Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, and bringing back Jay Bruce. Almost none of these wish lists include pitching, which may be the most important area the Mets need to address next season. The Mets’ season has been derailed by poor pitching, particularly a depleted starting rotation that currently has five of the seven starters it opened camp with on the disabled list.
Matz is on the shelf with nerve irritation in his pitching elbow, and the Mets are hopeful that this procedure will help Matz out like it did for deGrom last season. deGrom went under the knife last season to have a nerve in his elbow moved to a less sensitive spot, and he has managed to stay healthy this season. The Mets also have hopes that the injury concerns of Matt Harvey, Matz, and Noah Syndergaard will be a thing of the past for next season. While that is all well and good, the Mets simply can’t rely on having their pitchers be healthy again.
This season really exposed how important Bartolo Colon was to the Mets’ rotation. Colon wasn’t as talented as his rotation mates the last three years, but he did bring tremendous value in his durability. The Mets never had to place Colon on the disabled list during his tenure with the team and he ate a lot of innings. While Colon has certainly seen better days, the Mets need to find a veteran starter or two to provide themselves some rotation insurance. There will be some decent options on that front in the free agent market, including C.C. Sabathia, Alex Cobb, Jhoulys Chacin, and John Lackey. Even if the Mets think that all of their young pitchers will be ready, adding a veteran starter could allow them to use a guy like Seth Lugo in the bullpen, which would help boost that unit as well.
The poor rotation performance has also taxed the bullpen, which has been atrocious for much of the season. Part of the problem is that Sandy Alderson built the unit on the cheap, leaving several roster spots open to young players who have under performed. The Mets need to add several more proven bullpen arms to the roster to help take pressure off the rotation. The unit is off to a good start with Jerry Blevins and A.J. Ramos around as the primary set up men for Jeurys Familia, but the Mets need at least two more capable relievers out there. While the lineup does need a lot of work this winter, the Mets need to focus heavily on pitching as well.
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