Written by Keith Gaxiola
Another year, another season where the New York Mets have run into their usual streak of bad luck that they just cant seem to get away from.
From early on this season, I thought the Mets had all the pieces to contend for the World Series. I even went as far as to say they’d face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship. But things are spiraling for the Mets right now and it’ll be a tough road to weather the storm. Over the last week and a half, 3 starting Mets have landed themselves on the Injured List and this doesn’t even include Jacob deGrom being transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.
With two outs in the 6th inning of Wednesday night’s game, Max Scherzer looked over to the dugout and gestured that he was “done”. There was a moment of confusion, and the coaches had no idea what was going on but then signaled again that he was done. The staff came out to the mound and Scherzer walked off the field with a trainer. This is a difficult situation since Scherzer was expected to carry the rotation until fellow ace deGrom returns from the IL. Jacob deGrom’s current rehab timeline is looking like a mid-late June return at the earliest but the actual timeframe is largely unknown. “Mad” Max to this point had been worth every penny of his $130 million contract, holding a 5-1 record (tied for 1st in the league) and a 2.54 ERA. Now, uncertainty fills the clubhouse after an MRI revealed Scherzer is dealing with a moderate-high grade oblique injury. The trainers and coaches are hopeful he’ll be able to return in 6-8 weeks, but the same injury has held players out for 2-3 months in the past. While I’m no licensed physician, at 37 years old, I think he’ll be lucky to rejoin the team by late July.
I’m afraid I may have jinxed Tylor Megill after praising him for his breakout year, he had a horrible outing that lasted only 1 ⅓ innings, and where he gave up 8 runs. Just four days after the poor start, he was placed on the 15-day IL because of bicep tendinitis in his pitching arm but he should be evaluated by the end of the week. Megill believes he won’t miss too much time, but the severity of his injury isn’t known yet. In 2018, Clayton Kershaw was out for almost a month with a similar injury and with three starting pitchers out of the rotation, the Mets need him back as soon as possible.
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The starting catcher, James McCann, underwent successful injury on a bone in his wrist Tuesday morning and is expected to miss around 6 weeks. While a great defensive catcher so far this year, he just hasn’t lived up to the offensive hype surrounding his first season. Hitting a measly .196, it’s totally possible his replacement can actually add some more production to the lineup.
The Mets have one of the highest payrolls in the MLB and they’ve shown their resiliency time after time, but can they withstand potential months without two of the best pitchers in the game? All the while, not even knowing when their #3 pitcher will be able to return.
They do have the lineup that could carry a weaker pitching staff, and ultimately, every team deals with injuries around the league but it certainly feels like a rash of bad luck.