The New York Mets’ rotation through mid-June performed exceptionally well, with four starters all maintaining earned run averages below three. This was the first time New York could say this in forty years. On June 13th, Kodai Senga strained his hamstring, and the momentum shifted.

Injuries And Incompetence Rule The Day

Senga’s hamstring was only the beginning. Tylor Megill strained his elbow and hasn’t pitched since. Griffin Canning tore his Achilles on a pitching follow-through, ending his season.

The Mets finally got Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea back after extended injury layoffs. Pitch count restrictions, though, combined with control ineffectiveness, did little to improve the rotation’s luck.

New York endured a month with only three starters requiring multiple bullpen games. Throwing the relief corps often felt like raising the white flag as the Mets got pounded early. It created a malaise that the team has struggled to escape.

Clay Holmes adjusted well early in his transition from a career in the bullpen to the rotation. He went 7-3 with an ERA below three into June. He also pushed innings and pitch count limits he hadn’t experienced before. He lost his command and, since then, has been unable to get past four innings.

Senga’s Return Changes Nothing

Senga came off the Injured List in mid-July, but his effectiveness vanished. Like Holmes, he labored with terrible control. He became a four-inning pitcher who couldn’t put hitters away.

Manaea maintained high strikeout ability while keeping runs off the board. He also returned with loose bone chips in his elbow. This led New York to handle him carefully by restricting his pitch count.

The Mets stretched Montas out, but after a short glimpse of success, he failed miserably. He put his team in early holes as hitters eager to take advantage of his mediocre stuff pounded away.

New York, since mid-June, has a starting corps that has only gotten into the sixth inning a total of 9 2/3 innings. A quality start is considered six innings pitched with three runs allowed. The Mets, for most of the last two months, haven’t approached that.

Stearns Fails To Upgrade Rotation

General Manager David Stearns did a terrific job turning an iffy bullpen into one of the best with trade deadline moves. He acquired Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles and Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals. Soto and Helsley have closing experience, and Soto brings a much-needed lefty specialist. He traded for Taylor Rogers, one of the game’s most durable relief arms.

Stearns, though, failed to add anything to the rotation that has become the equivalent of a dam ready to burst. The asking prices, undoubtedly, were sky high for options like Sandy Alcantara and Dylan Cease, but New York couldn’t enter August without improvements.

By doing nothing, Stearns has left the Mets with little maneuverability. Healthy and reliable veteran options aren’t present in Triple-A. Megill might be able to come back in a couple of weeks, but he struggled in his last couple of starts before getting hurt.

Senga and Holmes are offering little signs that they will go deep into games anytime soon. Manaea likely will have to be handled with kid gloves the rest of the season.

Montas Implodes Again

Montas once again was shelled Sunday afternoon in what should have been a winnable game. The San Francisco Giants sold off parts at the trade deadline and were reeling. That didn’t matter against Montas as they knocked him around early and often on their way to a 12-4 win.

Montas went four innings and got shelled in the third and fourth for seven runs. He allowed seven hits and two walks while his earned run average rose to a pathetic 6.68. This was the fourth time in seven starts that he has given up four runs or more.

Stearns Has Only One Clear Answer

David Stearns took a big risk by not addressing the rotation, leaving only one viable option. New York has stocked up an arsenal of promising young pitchers, led by Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean at Triple-A Syracuse and Jonah Tong at Double-A Binghamton.

Sproat dominated in his last start, giving up zero runs while allowing three hits and striking out nine. Over his last 33 innings pitched, he has only allowed three runs, giving up 16 hits and striking out 39 during that span.

McLean pitched well in his last start, allowing four hits, two runs, and striking out six in 7 1/3 innings pitched. He went 3-1 with a 1.37 ERA at Binghamton and is 5-4 with a 3.01 ERA at Syracuse.

Tong may have the most impressive numbers, going 8-4 with a 1.66 ERA while striking out 146 in 92 innings pitched. He has been unhittable at Binghamton and begs the question of why he is still pitching there. During the Davey Johnson days, he would likely have been called up to the Big Apple, like what happened with Dwight Gooden. Stearns is unlikely to do this, but is wasting time not moving him to Syracuse.

Sproat and McLean have shown enough to warrant the opportunity to move to the Big Apple. Montas should be moved to the bullpen, and Holmes needs to be sat down for a week or two. Use this to call up the young guns and see if a spark can be created. Doing the same thing that isn’t working and expecting different results is foolish. The Mets have done this for two months. It’s time for a change.

End Of My New York Mets Rant

Could the young arms struggle in their initial exposure to New York? The biggest adjustment is from Triple-A to the major leagues, so yes, it’s possible. It’s also true that the biggest risks often taken are the ones that aren’t.

The Mets have floundered since mid-June. Stearns built a bullpen with his deals that can take a lot of pressure off a rotation, another reason to call up Sproat and McLean. The relief corps can serve as the young guns’ protection.

Sproat and McLean have pitched well at every minor league level and have shown they can handle Triple-A. Shouldn’t excellent performance be rewarded, especially when there is a clear need for their services? Something different must be tried, and this is the only clear response Stearns has left.

Give Holmes a chance to take a rest and build up for the stretch run. If the young guns pitch well, New York can go to the six-man rotation that they have hinted at throughout the season.

Finally, young players who get their opportunity usually create tremendous energy. The Mets need this desperately. They have looked flat and often resigned to losing. A shakeup must occur in a tight race with the Philadelphia Phillies. Now is the time to make it.