07/17/2020 Mets Summer Camp
On the final day of Summer Camp at CitiField, the Mets received some bad news as Marcus Stroman suffered a torn left calf which an MRI confirmed.
Apparently, Stroman suffered the injury back on Friday when he was struck by a comebacker during an intrasquad game. The team thought it was merely calf tightness but the pain persisted forcing Stroman to take the MRI which revealed the torn calf.
As of right now, surgery is not an option the Mets are considering but that could change based on the success Stroman has in resting the calf. But this has already forced Luis Rojas to adjust his rotation for this opening weekend series vs the Braves. DeGrom will pitch the opener followed by Steven Matz and now Rick Porcello. I am sure Michael Wacha will pitch game #4 in Boston but that next game at Fenway on Tuesday Night should be an interesting decision for the team’s rookie manager.
#0 Marcus Stroman Neil Miller The New York Extra #0 Marcus Stroman Neil Miller The New York Extra #0 Marcus Stroman Neil Miller The New York Extra
With Noah Syndergaard out for the season after Tommy John Surgery and with this latest Stroman development you wonder if Rojas is thinking of inserting Seth Lugo in the rotation or if he feels he is just flat out too valuable in the bullpen to move him into the rotation. My sense is the Met manager is leaning on keeping Lugo in the bullpen .
He would rather insert Corey Oswalt or even David Petersen and I think both have potential but to me Lugo is the best option. You have some depth in the bullpen and you can stretch him out a bit by using him as an opener the first few times in the rotation stretching him out a bit each time. We sometimes forget how valuable Seth Lugo was late in the 2016 season as a starter but the truth must be told-he excelled in that role and with his wide assortment of pitches he could be a real weapon in this rotation.
This truncated 60 game season is too short to entrust your team to an unproven prospect who may be in over his head and with Lugo you have a hurler who has performed well at this level as a starter. The other option could be making a deal but at this point no general manager in this sport could afford dealing pitching depth unless he gets blown away with players in a trade.
Seth Lugo can solve this problem until Stroman returns and I sincerely hope Luis Rojas and the Mets will not just dismiss that alternative.