New York Mets: The starting rotation might be running out of options

Jason Vargas made his first start of the year for the New York Mets on Saturday night against the Padres. Things, as I expected, did not go well. If this trend continues, the Mets’ rotation will run low on options.

Mickey Callaway is going to have to continue being very creative pretty soon. The New York Mets’ rotation cannot keep going on like this. Jason Vargas missed a few weeks prior to this. Yes, one start is not the best time to be analyzing someone, but is it really just one start?

The Jason Vargas signing made a lot more sense at the time. A veteran guy brought in to eat up innings and maybe occasionally be reliable. But now, the Mets really need to rely on Vargas working out. If it does not, they might be screwed.

Vargas’ stat line on Saturday is ugly. As if nine, yes NINE earned runs is not bad enough, he only went 3.2 innings. So he was brought in to eat up innings but already failed at doing that.

This is not me saying it is time to panic. Obviously, the Mets need to give him another chance. Especially since they have a small homestand coming up. However, if Vargas does not turn it around, what are the Mets going to do?

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The Mets rotation is not awful. Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are studs. We know what they bring and how good they are. But after that, every other starter is hit or miss.

If Vargas does not step up, they cannot keep starting him. They already moved Matt Harvey to the bullpen and need to stick with that decision in order to not lose credibility.

The Mets can always put Seth Lugo back in the rotation if need be, but he just has not earned it. Robert Gsellman has started in the rotation before but if they move him, they lose one of their best assets in the bullpen this year.

So, if the Mets do not get anything from Jason Vargas, whose career ERA is now up to 4.22, then they will need to get creative with their starting rotation. The current roster does not provide them with a lot right now. I do not have a ton of confidence in what will happen if the Mets need to resort to another backup plan.

The Mets might be just fine. There is a decent chance they will be fine once they return back to Citi Field. But based on how Vargas looked on Saturday and the Mets’ rotation already having gone through changes this year, I have reason to worry.

Next: New York Mets should create a new ‘relief rotation’

The New York Mets’ overall fate might be resting on the success or failure of Jason Vargas’s spot in the rotation. That is definitely not how the Mets wrote things up this offseason.

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