The inactivity of Brodie Van Wagenen and ownership is rounding third and heading toward biting the New York Mets in the rear.
After sitting idly by and letting an affordable depth starter in Gio Gonzalez go to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Mets were hit with some injury setbacks over the weekend.
Steven Matz was sent back to New York on Sunday so team doctors could examine a nerve issue in his left forearm. It’s an issue that has been apart of his lengthy injury history as he underwent surgery in 2017 to readjust the ulnar nerve in his left elbow.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported on Monday morning that the nerve issue will keep Matz out for just a start or two for precautionary purposes. So a major injury scare looks to have been avoided, at least on his part.
Sunday also saw Jason Vargas leave his start against those very same Brewers early due to a hamstring injury after just four innings. He is set to be re-evaluated on Monday to determine the severity of his injury.
It forced the Mets’ bullpen into another hard day of work after an 18-inning marathon on Saturday night which saw the Brewers come away with a 4-3 victory behind a Ryan Braun walk-off single. The Mets fell below .500 for the first time this season before getting swept on Sunday in a 3-2 loss.
In typical Mets fashion, Milwaukee’s pitcher on Saturday was none other than Gonzalez, who allowed one run on three hits in 5.1 innings of work while striking out seven.
Both his starts since signing with the Brewers late last month have come against the Mets. He has a 2.61 ERA this year.
Matz has a 3.86 ERA while Vargas’ is a 5.92.
While the New York’s pitching is in shambles, their offense has disappeared over the past 11 games, averaging just 2.55 runs per day. They have won just a single series over the past month.
Now their left-handed starting depth is falling under seige, which might finally force Van Wagenen and manager Mickey Callaway to scramble for some legitimate pitching depth.
Instead of addressing this looming issue with ample time earlier this season, as most MLB teams would, the Mets’ penny-pinching ways prevailed once again.
And once again, it’s going to hurt the team.
Gonzalez was a clear choice to step in as the Mets’ No. 5 starter if needed. His numbers at Citi Field over his career have been sterling: an 11-2 record with a 1.83 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 18 starts. He also boasts plenty of experience pitching in the NL East after spending six-plus seasons with the Washington Nationals.
He was a far more affordable option than Dallas Keuchel — the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner who is still a free agent and could provide the Mets rotation with a boost.
But if the Mets didn’t want to outbid the Brewers on the one-year, $2 million contract signed by Gonzalez, they certainly won’t give a multi-year deal to Keuchel.
Van Wagenen acquired reliever Wilmer Font from the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday to provide another option, as first reported by MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. While Font has a 5.79 ERA this year, he had a 1.71 ERA in five starts last season. That could mean the Mets will try him out at the bottom of the rotation.
If not, the Mets might have to break up their already-banged-up bullpen and use Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman — both right-handers — as spot starters.
