New York Mets: Mets actually have solid plan in place for starting pitching depth

After a busy and fulfilling offseason, there is really only one need the New York Mets have to fill on their roster, starting pitching depth. As it turns out, there is actually a pretty nice plan in place for that.

The New York Mets, as long as things continue to chug along at a normal pace, have their five man rotation in place. The Mets’ ace is already Jacob deGrom, then Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz, and Jason Vargas follow behind him. While it is nice to have a rotation in place, it’s good to plan ahead, the question still remains, where is the depth?

That is a fair question and really the only one that still lingers across my mind as I look at the good and bad of this roster. The Mets have a deep bullpen, thanks in part to the additions of Edwin Diaz and re-signing Jeurys Familia.

However, with it being deep, there comes the thought of having both Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman be starters. They have been starters before in the MLB careers and it was because they were both thrust into the rotation for the same reason, depth issues. So, those are two real options to be the back-up starters.

But, I personally do not think that would be wise. I was just talking about how the Mets’ bullpen is now a strength. They could put a solid four plus innings out of their bullpen any given night now, plus having the dubbed “lefty specialist” Justin Wilson. So, to take out one of their bullpen arms and put them in a last ditch-effort as a starter wouldn’t work out to well, at least the odds are not high.

Then, then there are still some big name free agents out there to sign. Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Keuchel looking for their next teams. Yes, this must be addressed, Gio Gonzalez is great at Citi Field, yes opponents have a .185 average against him at Citi Field, however, most of the time from 2012-2017 (his full seasons with D.C.), the Mets’ lineup was not very intimidating, it’s not like he was facing the toughest opponent.

So, while spending more money on a free agent seems like it would be nice, that is just never what the Mets do, nor should we expect it. The Mets are cheap enough as it is, I’ve never shied away from my opinion on that, however, the Mets shouldn’t sign a name like that, they would cost a lot to maybe not even play a lot.

So, that is why I liked what MLB.com’s Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo had to say about how the Mets will address the need for another starting pitcher, should an injury occur, which let’s be real here.

Here is what he had to say answering a fans question about depth behind Vargas, barring injury or another awful start to the season:

"“That depends entirely on Vargas, whom I expect to have a bounce-back season. If he doesn’t, I see [Walker] Lockett, [Kyle] Dowdy, [Corey] Oswalt and even [Drew] Gagnon as likely options to take his place.”"

That makes a lot of sense. Quite frankly, those options are solid enough from me. We have seen and watched this Mets built around pitching ride or die by the young staff they have. It is only a matter of time before we see the next one come up and be an asset.

Corey Oswalt is a name that stands out to me the most out of the bunch because Mets fans have seen him. He pitched in 12 games last year, notching three wins and pitching over 60 innings. Worse comes to worse, they just go to him to log a few starts.

Overall, the depth of the Mets’ pitching staff isn’t ideal. But quite frankly, what teams have pitching depth they are satisfied with? No team should ever be content with not having enough pitching, it doesn’t grow on trees in the MLB anymore.

It is the better teams that have the most superior planning. If the Mets plan to use depth from within, that is great planning. Then if even all else fails, I’d imagine they will resort to spending, which is always their last option.

The Mets have their five starters lined up for this season already. deGrom is the ace and Vargas is the fifth man. Anything beyond that seems to be taken care of, for now. This is not the worst plan on paper, but it’s all about executing it on the diamond. We shall find out, I suppose.