With the New York Mets rebuilding their rotation, Kodai Senga was the most crucial starter going into Spring Training. But the Mets already need to replace him more than a month before Opening Day. Although many quickly turned their focus to Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell, team president of baseball operations David Stearns stated he will not be searching outside the organization for reinforcements just yet.
This is probably the best course of action at this time. Through June or July, the Mets have a number of reliable and affordable options to fill Senga’s roster spot.
But as New York discovered last year, depth can disappear very quickly. Without Senga, the Mets’ rotation consists of pitchers with a history of prolonged injuries and poor performance. Even though Tylor Megill, Max Kranick, José Butto, and Joey Lucchesi have some potential, they are not trustworthy individuals.
Senga’s injury deals the team a serious blow. Even though this group has enough major league ready players to cover for him, one more injury—which is not implausible given this group—will put the depth Stearns assiduously assembled to the test.
The Rotation of the New York Mets Is Good. For the time being
The Mets were pleased with their pitching depth going into Spring Training last year. Subsequently, mid-thirties veteran Jose Quintana—who was signed partly because of his durability—was injured very soon. A few weeks later, the team declared that Justin Verlander, 40, would not be starting the season due to an injury of his own. Two significant offseason additions were gone before the season even got underway.
The Mets rotation was put to the test once more in April due to Carlos Carrasco’s and Max Scherzer’s health issues. Megill and David Peterson, two excellent depth pieces, were also very much under pressure. Last year, New York was pleased with the depth of its rotation, but it was unable to overcome unforeseen injuries and poor play.
A year later, the Mets were a team with which one could easily imagine similar problems developing. Stearns redesigned the rotation with arms that are less reliable but have a large upside potential. Senga’s injury serves as a reminder of how quickly depth becomes tested even though it doesn’t mean the season is over.