The New York Mets have six starters for five spots. Jacob deGrom is the ace, and Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman are next in line. The real competition will be between newcomers Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha and homegrown lefty Steven Matz.
The Mets are already arranging the competition. It will begin this weekend. Porcello and Stroman will take the ball on Saturday’s Grapefruit League-opening split-squad games vs. the Marlins and at the Cardinals, respectively. Matz will get the nod on Sunday.
Porcello and Wacha will try to rebound from a tough 2019 season. The former, winner of the 2016 American League Cy Young award with the Boston Red Sox, pitched to a 5.52 ERA in 32 starts. Wacha, meanwhile, finished 6-7 with a 4.76 ERA in 29 games (24 starts) with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Mets will have a competition for two rotation spots
Matz had a solid season, with a 4.21 ERA in 32 games (30 starts) and a career-high 160 1/3 innings. “Matzy is a guy that can sometimes get into struggles with his command, but he’s able to find his rhythm throughout outings, and we saw that last year,” said Mets manager Luis Rojas to MLB.com. “Sometimes pitch counts ramp up because of it. We’re looking at him just to have that consistency from the start, and that’s something that he’s working really hard on: command. That’s the name of his task, and he’s working really hard on it. Let’s see Sunday if he brings it to the game.”
It is expected that the loser of the competition between the three men for two spots in the Mets rotation goes to the bullpen and fills a long-man/spot starter role. And, if injuries strike, that man can enter the regular turn.
The addition of Matz, Wacha or Porcello would further strengthen a very good New York Mets’ bullpen. The unit has Edwin Diaz, Dellin Betances, Seth Lugo, Jeurys Familia and Brad Brach already.