Sean Gilmartin tossed three scoreless innings Thursday so everyone expected him to get two or three days off before getting called on again. But Logan Verrett’s early departure from a spot start pressed him back into duty after just one day off. Gilmartin came on and pitched two scoreless innings Saturday and made a case for being kept in the majors, even after Steven Matz and Wilmer Flores are back in action.

The problem is that no one in the bullpen deserves a demotion. Among the other seven relievers currently with the team, the worst ERA is Jerry Blevins and his 3.00 mark and the worst WHIP belongs to Antonio Bastardo, who checks in with a 1.260 mark. Overall this year, the team’s relievers have a 2.39 ERA, a 1.139 WHIP and 3.69 K/BB ratio. They lead NL relievers in ERA and K/BB ratio and are second in the league in WHIP.

Before the year started, the thought was that the bullpen was a question mark but that strong starting pitching would help them get through. And it’s turned out to be just about the complete opposite. Now, in mid-May, we can seriously contemplate going to an eight-man bullpen because the Mets have that many relievers and the starters are regularly exiting before the seventh inning.

Yes, Coors Field is playing a role here but let’s look at the output of the team’s starters in the month of May:

5/1 – Noah Syndergaard, 5.2 IP

5/2 – Bartolo Colon, 8.0 IP

5/3 – Matt Harvey, 5.2 IP

5/4 – Matz, 7.2 IP

5/5 – Jacob deGrom, 5.0 IP

5/6 – Syndergaard, 6.0 IP

5/7 – Colon, 6.2 IP

5/8 – Harvey 6.0 IP

5/9 – Matz, 6.0 IP

5/10 – deGrom, 7.0 IP

5/11 – Syndergaard, 8.0 IP

5/12 – Colon, 5.0 IP

5/13 – Harvey, 5.2 IP

5/14 – Verrett, 2.2 IP

In 10 of the last 14 games, the starters completed fewer than seven innings and six of those they didn’t even complete six full frames. The only saving grace is that there hasn’t been an extra-innings game in this stretch.

And while the relievers have been excellent, they also come with some restrictions. Jim Henderson has been great but ideally you don’t pitch him in back-to-back games and you don’t go multiple innings with him. Blevins is on a team-imposed “avoid righties at all costs” regimen and has only pitched a full inning in five of his 16 appearances. Addison Reed has allowed 43% of his inherited runners to score throughout his career and should generally start an inning fresh. Hansel Robles is homer-prone.

Generally, my preference is to go back to a six-man bullpen but right here, right now, weighing all of the factors, an eight-man pen makes sense. Gilmartin can provide more value right now than most of the hitting reserves, at least until the starters regularly give the team more innings than they are now.

And let’s be honest, the Mets’ reserves are not tearing the cover off the ball. Sporadic playing time isn’t helping but 2016 Eric Campbell is making us long for the 2015 version, the one that no one particularly liked. Alejandro De Aza is doing his best John Mayberry Jr. imitation and the brief time we’ve seen him in center makes us all the more grateful that the team re-signed Yoenis Cespedes. Flores hasn’t been very good, either, but someone on the team has to be the backup shortstop.

De Aza and Flores are both out of options and De Aza can refuse an outright assignment, meaning that Campbell is the one to go down when Flores is able to return.

Gilmartin has done great in his two appearances this year but his performance with the Mets’ organization has been terrific since being acquired as a Rule 5 pick prior to the 2015 season. Last year in 50 games, he had a 2.67 ERA and a 1.186 WHIP, numbers that were just as good as the ones that got Bastardo a two-year, $12 million deal.

This year he was sent to the minors to work as a starting pitcher and in the unfriendly environment of Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League, he was 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in six starts before getting recalled. He’s probably an MLB-quality starter. At the very least he should be in the majors. When Flores and Matz come back, let’s hope the Mets think so, too.

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