On Tuesday, the New York Mets were forced to rely on Ariel Jurado, a mediocre veteran, and Franklyn Kilome, a rookie, for much of the game against the Baltimore Orioles. It didn’t end up well, as they allowed three homers between the two and the team lost.
“They didn’t fully give us what we were expecting,†Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “They didn’t do a good job.â€
Jurado was visibly frustrated. “Obviously, when you come in and we’re on a bad losing streak, if you’re able to end that losing streak, you feel good about it,†he said. “Today, I just tried to give the best of my abilities. I was really just trying to battle the entire way through.â€
MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reviewed all the starting pitchers that have been lost in the last couple of seasons to injury, trades or roster crunches.
The amount of quality pitchers is astounding. Here are the New York Mets’ starting pitchers that are no longer with the team, and the reason why:
- Noah Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery in the spring, lost for the season)
- Marcus Stroman (opted out of the season for COVID-19 concerns)
- Justin Dunn (traded to Seattle)
- Anthony Kay (traded to Toronto)
- Simeon Woods-Richardson (traded to Toronto)
- Kevin Smith (traded to Baltimore)
- Walker Lockett (designated for assignment)
- Jordan Humphreys (designated for assignment)
- Stephen Gonsalves (designated for assignment)
- Corey Oswalt (injured)
You could make a rotation with recently departed Mets’ prospects
Dunn, Smith, Kay and Woods-Richardson are all good prospects, and the first three are already contributing at the major league level.
David Peterson, Jacob deGrom, Michael Wacha have all been hurt or limited at some point in 2020, and Steven Matz has struggled and was demoted to the bullpen.
“There’s a lot of adversities everywhere, and we’re aware of that,†Rojas said. However, he also stated that he will always trust his hurlers. “When we lose, it hurts. For everyone in that room, it just hurts. They feel every loss. But at the same time, they have the ability to bounce back.â€
The Mets do have some pitching prospects left, headlined by Matthew Allan, but they are too far away from MLB.
Given that Syndergaard’s status for next season is iffy (he is projected to return around the All-Star break if all goes well) and that Stroman, Wacha and Porcello will be free agents after this year, the Mets will be forced to pursue a lot of pitching in the offseason.