The regular season is officially over and the New York Mets are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. That postseason appearance was a brief one as the Mets were beaten by the San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card game at Citi Field. The Mets are back in the Wild Card round again but it is now a best of three series thanks to Major League Baseball’s new postseason format, ensuring at least two more days of October baseball in Flushing with the San Diego Padres coming to town for the weekend to earn the right to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
The Padres got the better of the Mets in the regular season, winning four out of six meetings between the teams, but those results can largely get thrown out the window now that the pressure of October baseball is here. Let’s take a look at five things to watch ahead of the Wild Card series.
How Will The Mets Set Up Their Rotation?
Max Scherzer is starting for the Mets tomorrow against Yu Darvish but the team has not revealed the rest of its rotation yet. Buck Showalter is reportedly toying with a strategy that could see the Mets go to Chris Bassitt in Game 2 if Scherzer wins Game 1, a play to give the Mets a boost in a potential NLDS matchup with the Dodgers by saving Jacob deGrom to start Game 1 in that series. If Bassitt loses, deGrom would still be available to serve as a potential stopper in Game 3, which would result in Taijuan Walker starting Game 1 in Los Angeles.
The Mets would still go to deGrom in Game 2 if Scherzer loses Game 1, leaving Bassitt for Game 3 in that scenario, but this strategy has drawn some criticism online for being too cute when the goal is simply to advance. How Showalter navigates his rotation could have a big impact not only on this series but the next one if the Mets are able to advance.
Will Starling Marte be available?
It’s not looking good for Marte, who was unable to swing a bat or throw a ball without discomfort in workouts as recently as Wednesday. The Mets have sorely missed Marte’s presence in their lineup since his finger was fractured after getting hit by a pitch in Pittsburgh by Mitch Keller one month ago. The deadline to set the roster for this round is tomorrow at noon so Marte could theoretically sneak onto the roster if he shows enough improvement to indicate that the Mets could use him in Game 2 against lefty Blake Snell, but even if Marte isn’t on the Wild Card roster he could still be added prior to any postseason round.
Who Is The Righty DH?
Snell will start for San Diego in Game 2 and that will expose some of the Mets’ issues against lefties, particularly since Marte went down. Darin Ruf is reportedly feeling good after hitting the injured list with a neck strain and should be available to be on the roster but it is hard to imagine Showalter trusting him in some of the biggest games of the season after Ruf’s struggles for the past month. Marte’s return would allow the Mets to consider using Eduardo Escobar as the DH and putting Luis Guillorme at third for defense but the pick could be rookie Francisco Alvarez, who rounded into form over the past few games and may have more upside than Ruf at this point.
How Many Relievers Will The Mets Carry?
With only three starting pitchers necessary for this round, the Mets can opt to carry either nine or ten relievers for a maximum of 13 pitches. 10 relivers does seem like over kill so taking nine could make more sense as it would allow the Mets to carry another position player, such as pinch-running threat Terrance Gore. Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo, Drew Smith, Trevor May and Mychal Givens figure to be locks out of the bullpen while Carlos Carrasco may take the Trevor Williams slot of long reliever since Williams isn’t going to be available after throwing bulk innings in Game 162 yesterday. Lefties Joely Rodriguez and David Peterson figure to round out the unit as Tylor Megill’s recent trip to the COVID-IL will also leave him unavailable in all likelihood.
Did The Mets’ Lineup Wake Up In Time?
The final series with Washington did wonders for the Mets bats, which had been largely stagnant for the past week and a half. The Mets scored 21 runs over their final three games with Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso heating up in the process. There will be a significantly better pitching staff to deal with in the Wild Card round but the Mets have to hope they can carry their hot hitting into a series victory over the Padres to earn their ticket into the Division Series.
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