For David Stearns, the 45-game mark is typically when he assesses the rosters he constructs. The Mets have only played 27 games so far this season, but Stearns has gleaned some trends from that sample size.
Through the first month of the regular season, the Mets‘ president of baseball operations has seen a savvy first-year manager, growth from young players and a rock-solid bullpen. However, Stearns has also seen the Mets’ starting rotation depth nearly erased and the innings-eaters failing to eat innings.
Stearns shed light on the start of the season Monday at Citi Field. Here are the biggest takeaways.
BULLPEN DOMINANCE
Through their first 27 games, the Mets have the sixth-best bullpen ERA in baseball (2.73) and the 12th-worst starting ERA (4.19). The 137 1/3 innings logged by the rotation is the third-fewest. The bullpen has been crucial for this team, but there are questions about whether or not the workload for the relievers is sustainable, especially with left-hander Brooks Raley and right-hander Drew Smith both on the injured list.
It’s not unusual for starters to pitch fewer innings in April, which Stearns acknowledges, but the Mets have been lucky to get even five innings out of starters this season. Jose Quintana‘s eight-inning gem from Sunday feels like an outlier of a performance.
“I think we’ve had a couple of games over the course of the season where we’ve given up a bunch of runs early,” Stearns said. “But our guys, for the most part, have been able to get us into that fourth or fifth inning, so you haven’t had too many of those super short starts that can really tax your ‘pen.”
The Mets believe their starters will start to pitch deeper into games. But until they do, the team will continue to spread the workload throughout the bullpen. Stearns is happy with how pitching coach Jeremy Hefner has worked out a schedule and how manager Carlos Mendoza has utilized his relievers.
“While our bullpen has picked up a pretty substantial load, no individual pitcher has picked up a load that I would consider to be concerning,” Stearns said. “I think we’ve been able to distribute that load and those innings pretty well, both through how Mendy and our coaching staff have managed games, and for how we’ve managed the roster and tried to get fresh arms here as often as possible.”
STARTING DEPTH TO BE RESTORED
Ace Kodai Senga will only be out about another month, right-hander Tylor Megill could be back earlier and left-hander David Peterson is cruising through his hip labrum surgery rehab in Port St. Lucie. Plus, right-hander Max Kranick returned to the Triple-A Syracuse rotation after missing the start of the season with a hamstring injury, and the Mets have left-hander Joey Lucchesi and right-hander Christian Scott in Syracuse as well.
Scott has been particularly impressive in his first Triple-A season, going 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA in his first five starts. His 0.71 WHIP leads the International League, his .136 opponent average is the second-lowest and his 36 strikeouts are the second-most.
It sounds like the Mets are curious to see what he could do against big-league hitters, but not right now.
“Christian has done everything we could have hoped and expected, he continues to throw the ball very well,” Stearns said. “I think there is this balancing act when you call up a prospect, versus when the prospect is ready. And then when is there the Major League need, and often those need to overlap and intersect.
“For some guys down there, we’re probably just waiting for that intersection to occur.”
This means the struggling Adrian Houser (0-3, 8.37 ERA) will continue to try to turn his season around with the Mets.
Stearns, who acquired him from his former team in a trade over the winter, has seen Houser recover after bad stretches in the past.
“I certainly think that House is going to work his way through this,” he said.
GROWTH OF THE BABY METS
Third baseman Brett Baty hit .305 with a .732 OPS in his first 17 games before some hamstring soreness sidelined him for a few. He’s cooled off since then hitting .130 over his last 26 plate appearances with a double and three walks.
As a second-year big leaguer, Stearns expects Baty to slump at times. However, Baty has shown improved defense regardless of what he’s done at the plate, which is what Stearns has noticed the most.
“We’re seeing him continue to improve defensively, continuing to get more comfortable over there making not only the routine play but also sometimes the really difficult play,” Stearns said. “That’s been really encouraging for us.”
Mark Vientos, who was called up over the weekend when Starling Marte was placed on the bereavement list, has posted a top-30 OPS in the International League, which could be enough to keep him around after Marte returns. However, that could create a tough roster decision without an obvious candidate to demote.
“Mark has handled himself very well,” Stearns said. “He was very, understandably, disappointed when we sent him out at the end of camp. But he went down to Triple-A, worked hard and has been a good teammate.”
