Seth Lugo Happy to Finally Have a Place in Mets Rotation

Scott Long

9/7/20

With the departure of Zack Wheeler to the rival Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets had a rotation issue once again. They believed that they had solved that issue with the signings of veterans Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha, but this has not been the case.

Ever since the Mets developed their young core of pitching, it was believed that it would be the strength of the team, but injuries have piled up over the years, and of the original vaunted rotation only Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard remain as Matt Harvey flamed out and Wheeler departed this past offseason as a free agent. The rotation has been bailed out by deGrom winning back to back Cy Young Awards, but aside from him its been marred by inconsistency and injuries. The team hoped things would finally look up this season as now they had six starters, giving them depth with hopes of starting this season with one out of the bullpen. But the same has rang true this season as deGrom has been a rock at the front of the rotation, but the Mets lost their presumed second and third starters to injuries before they threw a single pitch this season with Syndergaard requiring Tommy John surgery, and Marcus Stroman opting out due to COVID-19 concerns after nursing an injury throughout Spring Training. Unfortunately, Porcello has struggled this season with a 5.54 ERA, Matz was demoted to the bullpen after struggling mightily and Wacha has spent half of the season on the Injured List.

Seth Lugo on the other hand has been the Mets most consistent pitcher outside of deGrom since the team called him up in 2016. However, after suffering a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm in 2017, Lugo was moved to the bullpen to relieve stress on his arm. Lugo thrived in this role, proving his value to the team, and even becoming the team’s best reliever, causing the team to keep him in that role even once he was ready to pitch a full game again. Lugo wasn’t happy with this but was forced to stay in the role, since the team’s bullpen was so weak that he was needed there. The same happened this season as the Mets began exhausting all options after injuries began to pile up, calling up young pitchers like Franklyn Kilome and David Peterson, and even promoting Robert Gsellman to the rotation, ahead of Lugo.

Eventually, the poor performance and injuries were too much to ignore, and the Mets finally gave Lugo another crack at the rotation on August 26. Since entering the rotation, Lugo appears to have proved that he deserves a spot, giving up only two earned runs in 11.2 innings of work over three outings. Lugo’s final test as a starter begins Friday, as he is now fully stretched out and ready to throw over 100 pitches. If he can continue his success, it would appear he’s secured his spot in the rotation. “I think he’s building up really good. It’s been a job well done and to get him to this point where he can give us five innings and I think next start maybe more,” said Mets manager Luis Rojas of Lugo.

Although it has taken much longer than hoped, it appears the Mets have settled on their starting rotation with deGrom, Lugo, Peterson, Wacha and Porcello. Now it’s up to Rojas to figure out the bullpen, which has gotten better this season, but still needs to find consistency. If the team can solve that issue, with the expanded playoff picture this season there’s no reason why the Mets can’t sneak into the playoffs and try to make a deep run towards the World Series.