With talk of trading Dillon Gee being prominent throughout the off-season, I feel like I am in the minority when I say I am glad they didn’t get rid of him for pennies on the dollar.
Right now, the Mets rotation is looking like Harvey, DeGrom, Wheeler, Niese and Colon with Gee serving as the long man. Prospects Rafael Montero, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are waiting in the wings as well.
While many are predicting that Thor (Syndergaard) and Matz could make their major league debuts this year, there’s no reason to rush them. Make sure they’re ready and use Gee as insurance. Who knows? Maybe there’s a really good reliever inside of Gee we never really knew was there.
I don’t think I am off base with my injury concerns. Harvey is coming off Tommy John Surgery, so the risk there is obvious. Niese has had shoulder issues, and he even recently admitted that he should have started last season on the disabled list, which is concerning considering the unreliable reputation of Mets medical staffs in recent years.
DeGrom went on the DL with a shoulder injury, and after fans thought the sky was falling and he was going to join Harvey on the surgical table, he proved that the injury was minor and put together a Rookie of the Year season. I don’t have many concerns with Wheeler, and Colon is an overweight pitcher over 40, that has to catch up with him this year, doesn’t it?
To rehash a point, if everyone stays healthy, you have an extra arm in the pen. Another thing to factor is if an injury happens to another team, who then ends up being one pitcher away from being a serious contender.
Keep an eye on teams in the NL West, AL Central and AL West. If an injury happens there, good old Sandy Alderson’s phone may finally begin to ring, and then he’ll be the one with the leverage.
