The Mets now have a massive hole in the pitching rotation, as Noah Syndergaard is going to undergo Tommy John surgery in the near future. Syndergaard was slotted to be in the #2 spot of one of the top rotations in all of baseball.
The Mets front office was definitely prepared for a situation like this, as they signed Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha, while already having 4 starters.
The team still has 5 starters, but the problem is that there will no more competition for that #5 spot; and more importantly no more starting pitching depth.
Michael Wacha and Steven Matz now have guaranteed spots in the rotation behind Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Rick Porcello. The Mets rotation is still strong, but losing Syndergaard for at least the next season is a big loss.
Syndergaard did not have the best 2019 campaign, however, there was reason for optimism for him to bounce back this season under new pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. He is still a former All-Star and the Mets now must try to replace him in the best way possible.
The team made a very good move trying to have 6 pitchers that are all capable of starting to begin the season, and we will see if it pays off.
The Mets don’t have the luxury of making a blockbuster trade anymore, after they made 2 in the last year. But the good thing is there are still in house options that they can use.
Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo both have been in this rotation before.
Lugo has expressed multiple times through the last couple of seasons of how he would like to be a starter again, and that should defiantly be a possibility. One of the Mets top prospects David Peterson is another option the Mets have.
The Mets rotation is still very talented which means they are not in a horrible spot without Syndergaard.
The best option is having Lugo back in the rotation ,and having Michael Wacha as their long man. Noah Syndergaard is a top pitcher, but the Mets are prepared and will still be able to compete.
