ST. PETERSBURG — The Mets have found a temporary resolution to the Adrian Houser problem. The struggling right-hander will be moved to the bullpen Monday for a series against the St. Louis Cardinals and the team will re-evaluate what they need from him next week after their May 9 off day.
With the Mets adding a sixth starter for a six-game road series through Tampa and St. Louis, they can use Houser out of the bullpen while he continues to work with the coaching staff. This is also a way to help him build up his confidence once again.
Houser took the news in stride.
“He’s such a professional,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Friday at Tropicana Field ahead of a series against the Tampa Bay Rays. “He’s been there before and right now he’s going through it, but he’s working really hard, to his credit. We’re pretty confident that he’ll get back to the pitcher we know he’s capable of being.”
Houser is 0-3 with an 8.16 ERA over his first six starts with the Mets. The 31-year-old has been a capable back-end starter throughout his career, but command issues have led to blowups and short outings. He gave up six earned to the Cardinals last weekend over 4 1/3 innings and eight earned to the Los Angeles Dodgers over 4.0 innings before that.
Thursday at Citi Field, he was booed off the field after five innings and four earned runs. However, he was happy to have made it through five innings and saw some improvements in that outing. Houser works primarily off his sinker and slider and he saw more ground-ball outs and better counts against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday than in his previous starts.
“I think today was definitely a step forward,” he said Thursday after the Mets overcame a 4-0 start by the Cubs to win, 7-6, in extra innings. “Not quite there, still working. Still not the full command back but definitely better.”
Since Houser started Thursday, he’ll go through his typical post-start conditioning schedule before he’s eligible to pitch out of the bullpen. When he is used, there won’t be limitations or restrictions. The Mets will use him in various situations and he should be able to provide some length.
“He’s going to be throwing some impactful innings,” Mendoza said. “We’re going to ask him to get outs in high-leverage situations, medium-leverage and low-leverage. He’s done it before. He’s a guy that’s been in the bullpen, he’s been a starter, he provides versatility and we’ve just got to get him back on track.”
Houser is 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA in 61 1/3 career relief innings. He made a few relief appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers over the last few years, but most of those innings were pitched in 2019 (17).
The Mets haven’t lost confidence in Houser. David Stearns is exceptionally familiar with him from their time in Milwaukee and the president of baseball operations has seen Houser take tough losses and bounce back.
A six-man rotation is something the Mets used at various points of the 2023 season but when their pitchers were ineffective they were forced to abandon that plan. They may have to adopt that plan again when Kodai Senga returns next month since the club has already decided he will get an extra day in between starts, much as he did last year.
They’ll use right-handed prospect Christian Scott on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays but there are no guarantees he will stay with the major league team beyond the weekend. For now, Scott gives the rotation enough flexibility that Houser can work out of the bullpen.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Left-hander Brooks Raley had a second opinion which showed reduced inflammation in his elbow. No surgery is needed, but the Mets are unsure of a timeline for a return. Raley will continue to play catch until he’s able to ramp up his throwing and get off a mound.
Right-hander Tylor Megill (right shoulder strain) threw 35 pitches over 2 2/3 innings in a rehab assignment for Double-A Binghamton on Thursday night. He’ll make another rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse in five days.
