I think we’ve made our position clear.
Seth Lugo has become one of the best relief pitchers in baseball. Yet, there has always been a strong desire among fans to slot him into the starting rotation.
And that was when the Mets’ starting five was intact. Once we lost Noah Syndergarrd, Marcus Stroman, Michael Wacha and David Peterson, we knew the “Make Lugo a starter” coalition would be out in full force.
They have gotten their wish.
Tonight, against the Marlins, Seth Lugo will get the start and Steven Matz will be available out of the bullpen.
The goal, according to skipper, Luis Rojas, is to stretch Lugo out and have him remain in the rotation.
I know our starting pitching is in shambles, but I don’t like this move. Here’s why.
- Seth Lugo is one of the best relief pitchers, not just on the Mets, but in all of baseball.
- Seth Lugo has a partial tear in his UCL. He has not been a starting pitcher since 2017. (He’s not been effective as a starter since 2016.) How much sense does it make to ramp up his workload to stretch him out in a short season that’s already more than halfway over?
- Seth Lugo now becomes the third pitching option who can’t be expected to go more than a few innings when handed the ball. The bullpen is just going to become more overtaxed than it already is.
- Chasen Shreve pitched 2 innings last year. Dellin Betances pitched one inning last year. Drew Smith is coming off Tommy John surgery. Justin Wilson battled though injuries most of last year. Jared Hughes is coming off the worst season of his career. Jeurys Familia and Edwin Díaz are coming off the worst seasons of their respective careers.
Wasn’t Brodie’s whole thing “eliminating ifs?” Seems like taking Seth Lugo out of this bullpen is a huge if.
Granted, the bullpen has been decent. But now, Edwin Díaz has become the closer by default with Lugo’s departure. Wouldn’t it have made sense to have him earn the spot back?
Not being a jerk here, but how long until we run into a situation late in a game where it would be beneficial to have Lugo in the pen? My guess is not very long at all.
Since we’re on the topic, didn’t the decision to remove Lugo from the bullpen almost cost them last night?
Short-sighted and potentially dangerous, in my humble opinion.