With the Mets’ bullpen struggling this season, the team has opted to rob Peter to pay Paul, moving starter Seth Lugo to the bullpen. While in the pen, Lugo has shined, boasting a minuscule 2.23 ERA as a reliever, by far the best on the team. But when the Mets’ annual injury woes popped up once again, in the form of Noah Syndergaard and Jason Vargas hitting the disabled list, rather than slot either Lugo or Robert Gsellman into the rotation, the Mets opted instead to go with Chris Flexen and Corey Oswalt. It begs the question: why is Lugo being avoided as an option for the rotation?



The team’s motivation for keeping Lugo in the pen appears twofold: the Mets like having Lugo in the bullpen, and Lugo has been less effective as a starter than as a reliever. Lugo has just a 3.52 ERA as a starter this season, and in his most recent stint in the rotation, Lugo gave up nine earned runs in just 19 innings across four starts.



But is Lugo tangibly better...