Syndergaard Could Reach The Majors In A Relief Role

ESPN's Adam Rubin spoke with Mets Vice President, Paul DePodesta, about the team's next pitching phenom, Noah Syndergaard.  Amongst the things they discussed was Syndergaards innings limit in 2014.  It is expected that Syndergaard won't make his major league debut until either late June or early July.  Unlike his predecessors, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, Syndergaard won't throw nearly as many innings in his first season at the major league level.

Rubin writes that unlike Harvey and Wheeler, who threw 135.2 and 149 innings respectively in their last full season in the minors, Syndergaard threw just 124.2 last year.  Pitchers generally aren't permitted to ramp up their work load by more than 30 innings from year to year, which would put Syndergaard about fifteen innings (or two starts) short of the other two.  Expect the Mets to be particularly mindful of this after they allowed Harvey to increase more than thirty innings after arriving at the major league level.  That placed Harvey on a list of pitchers at high risk for injury in 2013, before ultimately falling to Tommy John Surgery.

DePodesta told Rubin that the Mets may get creative in an effort to keep Syndergaard in the rotation into late September.  Although they will not delay his start to the season, the organization may be willing to break him into the majors in a relief role.  That is not something they have done in the past, but is something that's worked for other franchises, namely the St. Louis Cardinals, as Rubin points out.

One way or another, it appears only an injury can prevent Syndergaard from appearing in Queens this summer.  He will arrive to much fanfare as he'll look to live up to the standards set by those who've come before him.  While that's not necessarily a fair hand to be dealt, its the way things work in the big city.

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I'm going to level with you.  I want the Mets to meticulously monitor Syndergaard's innings limit, however I want no part of him appearing out of the bullpen.  I don't care if its worked elsewhere, all I can envision is the stunted growth of Jenrry Mejia.  I can live with shortened exposure in 2014 in the hopes of a healthy career as a starter.  We've seen in the past six months that even a pitcher like Harvey, with as smooth and simple delivery as they come, can still fall to injury.  Let Syndergaard grow at his own pace, as a starter.  If that means he's done in the first week of September, so be it.

Mets Shouldn't Even Consider Santana For 2014

I love Johan Santana. He was a gamer for us when healthy. He was electrifying to watch. Whether it was striking guys out, diving for bunted balls or swinging out of his shoes at the plate, he kept you watching the game. Besides pitching the team's first no-hitter, he also got laid on a golf course. It would have been nice if we had won more with him here, but I appreciate everything he did for this organization.

Early in the offseason I was all for bringing Santana back. However, even if only for a minor league deal, the Mets do not need Santana back. Frankly, I don't think it would benefit either party. After the surprising signing of Bartolo Colon, the Mets currently have 4 rotation spots solidified. Coming back to camp this year will be Jenrry Mejia. I'd love to see him grab the 5th spot, especially after the way he performed in his short stint last season. However Mejia has failed to prove he can stay healthy.

You don't know what you're getting from Johan this year. He's missed most of the last 3 seasons. Between him and Mejia, there would be no guarantee in that 5th spot of the rotation. The Mets have proven to not promote players until it is fiscally beneficial or out of desperation. And in reality, this is the right thing to do considering the position they've been in the last few seasons. The last thing the Mets should do is start the clock on Montero or Syndergaard prematurely. As exciting as this offseason has been in regards to the Mets making some solid acquisitions, most level headed fans are probably not expecting the Mets to be serious contenders this year.

The Mets need stability. All they need is a low cost veteran pitcher to come in and compete and give them some starts. Maybe Mejia wins the job outright and you can keep this veteran in the pen as a long man spot starter or accept an assignment in AAA. Either way, it's time for the Met and the fans to get past the story and the nostalgia and just part ways with Santana. Johan should go find a team that will give him a legitimiate shot to make their rotation and a chance to win a ring.

NYDN Harper: Mets Should Build Around Young Pitching

In Saturday's New York Daily News, John Harper had a fresh and interesting take on the Mets future, suggesting that the team follow the example of the Cardinals and Dodgers. He had this to say on the subject:

In a baseball post-season that so far has been defined largely by young, power pitching, the Cardinals won Game 1 of the NLCS against the Dodgers here by using seven pitchers, five of whom are age 26 or younger. 

Picture by @lets86it. Check out her work on Twitter

Now they'll start a 22-year old, Michael Wacha, on Saturday, then likely another, Shelby Miller, in Game 4. 

And somewhere, Sandy Alderson dreams of an October sometime in the next few years when the Mets are in a similar position, trying to win a championship on the strength of their young pitching... for now at least, this pitching-dominated post-season has further convinced the Mets' brass that it needs to be very careful about trading any of its young pitching.

This Harper guy seems like a real genius. Somewhere, in his office, Alderson read this article, surrounded by posters of Harvey, Wheeler, Montero, Mejia, Syndergaard, and whoever else you want to throw in there and thinking, "Oh... pitching. Thanks John Harper!"

Seriously, yes, this team should build around its young pitching talent. It's just that I find the writing of this article to be a bit... stupid, because I haven't heard anyone argue that the Mets shouldn't build around their pitching. They built a pitcher's park, have traded for and groomed what could potentially turn into the best rotation in the majors and we have to tell them to build around pitching? Just seems a little goofy to me is all.

A more interesting take from Harper would have been which one of these pitchers is the most expendable in a deal to fill some of the team's other holes. Including Niese in the long term, and even Dillon Gee in the short term, the Mets have more than a rotation's worth of very good pitchers in the system and plenty of other places they could use some real talent. On the flip side, I guess we do have an entire long winter to discuss that...