The New York Mets are in the midst of a crisis, and they need arms in the worst way. Jason Vargas and Steven Matz both appear likely to land on the injured list, which is not good for a team that was very thin on rotation depth to begin with.
Tests on Steven Matz confirmed it is indeed a nerve issue that's been bothering him a couple starts, not his elbow. So that is a relief for the Mets. He is likely to miss a start or so to be cautious while he receives conservative treatment.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 6, 2019
Word this morning is Jason Vargas is likely headed to the injured list with his hamstring injury. The injury is not believed to be serious, however, and Mets can do without a 5th starter until 5-18z. So it makes sense to IL him
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) May 6, 2019
The Mets believe that both starters will be out for a short time, according to Martino, but either way they will need more arms.
Sounds like they hope to plug Matz’s spot once and hopefully have both back soon after. https://t.co/1SkTf0cSNM
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) May 6, 2019
The Mets have a pair of off days coming up, so they will not need a fifth starter until May 18th. Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are set to start the first two games of their series with San Diego, but Matz was in line for Wednesday, so the Mets will need to fill in for him. With two starters going down, the Mets need more pitchers, so it’s no surprise they made a trade.
Source: The Mets have acquired right-handed Rays reliever Wilmer Font for cash or a player to be named.
Font throws in the mid-90s with two distinct braking pitches. He had a 5.79 ERA with the Rays and offers the Mets another bullpen option.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 6, 2019
Font was out of minor league options for the Rays, but Joe DeMayo notes that this could be a very shrewd pickup for the Mets.
Wilmer Font is a guy with quality stuff. A mid 90’s fastball, mid 80’s slider and a mid 70’s curve. He hasn’t really had results at the MLB level (5.79 ERA this year). However, he has a 3.50 FIP and xFIP this year and has been worth 0.2 WAR. Decent buy for cash/PTBNL. #Mets
— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) May 6, 2019
The Mets will likely place Matz and Vargas on the injured list tonight, enabling them to add two more arms to the bullpen. Font should be one of them, and the other could be a guy like Ryan O’Rourke, who was just sent down to Syracuse yesterday to make room for Tyler Bashlor. Adding an arm with that kind of stuff isn’t a bad option for the Mets, who need more guys capable of getting outs in their bullpen with Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, and Luis Avilan all on the shelf.
The most likely scenario for Wednesday’s starter could be Drew Gagnon, who pitched in one third of an inning on both Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee. The Mets avoided Gagnon yesterday after Vargas got hurt, and he could be getting ready for Wednesday’s start with two fresh arms to give the Mets bullpen depth.
Here’s a look at how the Mets could set their rotation up for the next week or so:
Monday, 5/6: deGrom
Tuesday, 5/7: Syndergaard
Wednesday, 5/8: Gagnon
Thursday, 5/9: Off
Friday, 5/10: Wheeler
Saturday, 5/11: deGrom
Sunday, 5/12: Syndergaard
Monday, 5/13: Off
Tuesday, 5/14: Gagnon
Wednesday, 5/15: Wheeler
Thursday, 5/16: deGrom
Friday, 5/17: Syndergaard
The Mets won’t need a fifth starter again until the 18th, and they are hopeful at that point that either Vargas or Matz will be ready to go. This could all have been avoided if the Mets had simply signed Dallas Keuchel or Gio Gonzalez, but the Mets could pay the price for it now.
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