New York Mets Remove Dillon Gee From Starting Rotation

Dillon Gee is removed from the starting rotation, as the New York Mets have scrapped their six-man rotation

The New York Mets decision to use a six-man rotation didn’t last long, as manager Terry Collins has already said they would be reverting back to a traditional five-man one. With that move being made, someone will be squeezed from the starting rotation, and that player will be Dillon Gee.

Gee was informed of the decision Saturday afternoon in a meeting with Collins. According to ESPN New York, Collins did a lot of apologizing during the meeting. It was a combination of things that Collins felt the need to apologize for, including the organization having Gee make rehab starts when he really didn’t need it for a mild groin strain, and for the inconsistency all season in his role with the team.

This will be the third move Gee is making this season since the spring, fourth if you count coming off the disabled list. Gee was slated to begin the season in the bullpen, but the Tommy John surgery for Zack Wheeler prompted him to be moved into the starting rotation, but only after he beat out Rafael Montero. He then was injured and put in the disabled list, and brought back as part of the six-man rotation that lasted only once through before being taken out and placed back into his original role as a bullpen arm.

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Gee was rather open about his opinion in being removed from the starting lineup, and spoke candidly about it. He even touched on the fact he will hurt his trade value, saying “I felt like any value — if I had any at all — before this, it’s probably gone. What am I going to do out of the pen? I felt like there’s really not a whole lot of good that comes from it.”

From that standpoint, Gee may have a point. The Mets haven’t hid the fact they have been looking to trade him since the offseason, and moving him into a long reliever role will probably diminish what small value he had left if he had any at all. But at the same time, he has done nothing to improve his value as a starting pitcher.

This season, Gee has struggled throughout. He has a record of 0-3 to go with a 4.46 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. In 34 ⅓ innings, he has managed only 21 strikeouts to go with nine walks. While Gee looked to get things going prior to heading to the DL, throwing 19 ⅔ innings while allowing only four runs, he struggled before that and was poor in his only start off the DL. Against the Padres in his first and only start thus far since coming off the DL, Gee got blasted to the tune of seven runs, four earned, in only four innings.

While he was obviously disappointed in being removed from the starting rotation, Gee is a veteran will take his demotion in stride as well as he can if it is truly going to improve the team. He is entering a foreign situation as a reliever, but will undoubtedly do his best to help the team get wins.

"“There’s nothing I can do. Obviously, I’m going to do the best I can. My biggest concern is that if there was any glimmer of value before this, I don’t see how there would be any more when I get moved to the pen — the value trade-wise or value to the team. I’m definitely unproven in the pen. You don’t know what you’re going to get, but you know what you’re going to get out of the guys that are already there.” – Dillon Gee"

May 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; (Left to right) New York Mets pitcher Dillon Gee and pitcher Noah Syndergaard and pitcher Matt Harvey and pitcher Jacob deGrom and bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello walk across the field before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The only real value Gee has left at this current point is that he has a very favorable contract. He is earning a modest $5.3 million this season, and has one year of arbitration remaining before he can become a free agent. There is a chance he could still get some spot starts though, as the Mets will look for ways to limit the innings of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard without shutting them down for extended periods of time during the season to avoid hitting inning limits before the season is over.

But for now, the Mets bullpen now has eight players in it with only four players on the bench. With all of the injuries the Mets have endured to the lineup, it is surprising they still have the roster situated as such, but with Gee now moving to the bullpen expect that to even out in the coming days. Travis d’Arnaud and Dilson Herrera are expected back from the DL very soon, which will put more players on the Mets’ bench for Collins to use.

While Gee is more than likely upset with the move, he will not cause a problem in the clubhouse and become a cancer. He is a veteran that knows some moves have to be made to improve the team, and will not put himself in front of the team’s goals.

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