MLB
Mets Weekly Wrap-Up #4: Pitching Continues To Struggle
After a tough and crazy ending to their series with Cardinals, the Mets finished off the week with a 4-6 road trip. With some shaky defense and struggling pitching staff, the Mets will head home for 10 games and look for a nice rebound. Their pitching staff (both starters and bullpen) were thought to be the Mets greatest strength this season. So far, they are slowly turning into the Mets worst nightmare.
Problems In The Rotation
On paper, the Mets have one of the best rotations in all of baseball. However, their starting rotation has struggled not only with not giving up runs but with making it deep into games. The current staff looks like this:
deGrom: 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA
Syndergaard: 1-2 with a 5.90 ERA
Matz: 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA
Wheeler: 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA
Vargas: 1-0 with a 9.58 ERA
This staff has one of the worst combined ERA in all of baseball. The team has also tried out Corey Oswalt and Chris Flexen, however, both of those starts did not turn out according to plan. With Dallas Keuchel still available, along with Gio Gonzalez opting-out of his deal with the Yankees, the Mets do have some options if they are serious contenders. Along with the fact deGrom is currently sidelined with elbow soreness, Gonzalez seems like a better fit for the Mets because he will be significantly cheaper than Keuchel, and he will also be ready to go almost as soon as he is signed. But will the Mets jump on the opportunity?
Problems In The Bullpen
The bullpen has simply been over-worked. With the starting staff not going deep into games, the bullpen is getting taxed day-by-day. Lately, they have slowly started to look much stronger than earlier this year. Gsellman and Lugo have turned things around significantly and Edwin Díaz has yet to blow a save this year. They still need guys like Luis Avilán and Jeurys Familia to return to form to help their bullpen be successful this year. Though the Mets are “still interested” in Craig Kimbrel, it seems unlikely the Mets are willing to eventually pull the trigger on him.
Is It Still Too Soon To Worry?
It is still April so yes it is still too soon to worry. The pitching that the Mets have is far too talented for their struggles to continue throughout the season. As the team head home for 10 games, the staff will look to surge with the home crowd on their side and get back on track.
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