{"id":36716,"date":"2025-02-25T06:49:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T06:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36716"},"modified":"2025-02-25T06:49:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T06:49:01","slug":"breaking-david-stearns-mets-put-to-rotation-test-again-after-losing-two-starters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36716","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: David Stearns, Mets put to rotation test again after losing two starters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"David<\/p>\n

Two weeks in, two starting pitchers gone.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s some depressing math for the Mets, whose rotation depth got noticeably shallower in very short order with Monday\u2019s reveal that Sean Manaea will open the season on the injured list with an oblique strain. Projected return for the team\u2019s No. 2 starter? The initial estimate is mid-to-late April.<\/p>\n

A week earlier, Frankie Montas was lost to a lat muscle strain that could keep him sidelined until early June. Two-month shutdown, another spring training buildup, and that might be a best-case scenario, given Montas\u2019 lengthy injury history before signing a two-year, $34 million contract in December.<\/p>\n

President of baseball operations David Stearns put on a master class in rotation-building last year by turning a bunch of promising high-ceiling retreads into walk-year wonders. Aside from the perpetually banged-up Kodai Senga, who supplied 5\u00a0<\/span>1\u20443 regular-season innings for his $15 million, the others mostly put up career performances, upgrading Stearns\u2019 six-month franchise evaluation period into an OMG romp to the NLCS.<\/p>\n

Understandably, Stearns went back to the same formula for Year Two, spending a fraction of the Mets\u2019 $325 million on the rotation. With owner Steve Cohen driving the bus on the $765 million deal for Juan Soto, as well as making first baseman Pete Alonso the highest-paid player at his position this season ($30M), it was up to Stearns to restock the starting staff in more efficient (frugal) fashion.<\/p>\n

Stearns already had done it once, with remarkable success. And Senga wasn\u2019t his signing anyway \u2014 that was the handiwork of his predecessor, Billy Eppler. But banking on lightning to strike twice can be a very risky gamble, and the odds are catching up to Stearns in a hurry.<\/p>\n

To think the Mets actually were planning to use a six-man rotation. At the moment, they\u2019re down to a top three of Senga, Clay Holmes and David Peterson, followed by, in no particular order, Griffin Canning, Paul Blackburn and Tylor Megill. Looking at that group, it was hardly a surprise that one of the first questions asked Monday in the wake of the Manaea injury involved the physical well-being of Senga.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of right now, everything is good,\u201d manager Carlos Mendoza said. \u201cI don\u2019t have anything to report there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until Senga shows us he can take the mound with any regularity, which hasn\u2019t happened since 2023 \u2014 and after baffling the Mets all last season \u2014 the ghost-fork specialist gets an asterisk.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d actually have more faith in converted closer Holmes, and he hasn\u2019t made a start since his 2018 rookie season with the Pirates (1-2, 7.80 ERA, 15 total innings).<\/p>\n

As for Peterson, is it reasonable to believe he can follow last season\u2019s breakout performance (2.90 ERA, 21 starts) with a similar encore?<\/p>\n

Stearns could get lucky again. The hidden genius of piecing together a rotation of B-listers? They\u2019re not as difficult to replace when one goes down. Shrugging off Montas\u2019 absence didn\u2019t figure to be a problem, other than swallowing hard on his salary. It gives someone else a chance to step up in spring training, and that\u2019s a silver lining of sorts as long as Montas doesn\u2019t develop other complications during his rehab process.<\/p>\n

Manaea, however, is in a different category. He figured to be among Stearns\u2019 safer bets, as reflected by the Mets\u2019 three-year, $75 million investment, but there are no guarantees.<\/p>\n

Manaea\u2019s reinvention after studying Chris Sale\u2019s slingshot delivery led to a stellar second half, and his affection for the Mets definitely made it easier for a winter reunion. But he clearly was running on fumes by the end of the Mets\u2019 playoff drive, which brought his innings total to a little over 200, including a career-high 181\u00a0<\/span>2\u20443 during the regular season.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a hefty workload these days, especially for a pitcher who turned 33 earlier this month, and Manaea admitted that he felt something in the oblique area upon his arrival in Port St. Lucie. Initially, he tried to work through it, but the problem never went away and an MRI revealed the strain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very, very disappointing,\u201d Manaea said. \u201cI hate being injured, not out there pitching, doing my job. It sucks and I\u2019m going to do everything I can to get there as healthy and as quickly as possible. I thought I was doing everything I could this offseason to train and it just kind of popped up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mets could always go outside the organization for a quick fix. Jose Quintana, who had a 3.75 ERA in 31 starts for them last season, is very much available. Trade talks could heat up again regarding the Padres\u2019 Dylan Cease.<\/p>\n

In the wake of Manaea\u2019s injury reveal, the Mets played it relatively cool, remaining confident that both of their injured pitchers will be rotation factors again before too long.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are getting tested,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cWe still feel really good with what we have internally.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Mets are discovering, that confidence can turn quickly. Two pitchers significantly hurt in two weeks is about as much as they can possibly handle in late February.<\/p>\n

A year ago, the Mets supposedly were cooked after losing Senga, but they instead performed brilliantly without him.<\/p>\n

This time, however, the expectations are way higher \u2014 and the Mets\u2019 margin for error already is shrinking fast.<\/p>\n

\n

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball’s Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sean Manaea joins Frankie Montas as sidelined starters, so let’s see what Mets’ boss has planned this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":36717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: David Stearns, Mets put to rotation test again after losing two starters - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36716\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: David Stearns, Mets put to rotation test again after losing two starters - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sean Manaea joins Frankie Montas as sidelined starters, so let's see what Mets' boss has planned this year.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36716\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-25T06:49:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-109.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36716\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36716\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: David Stearns, Mets put to rotation test again after losing two starters - 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