The Athletic’s Tim Britton reported on Thursday that the New York Mets will use a six-man pitching rotation at times this season.
It sounds like ace Max Scherzer doesn’t want it to become a full-time thing that disrupts his standard schedule.
“Pitching once a week, that’s a challenge because that’s very foreign,” Scherzer explained. “You’ve got to start thinking about a second bullpen and other things to keep the feel. I train my body to be on that fifth day. One day doesn’t get you off-kilter. Sometimes you need that off day. Once you start introducing two off days, you’re searching again.”
It’s understandable Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and manager Buck Showalter are keen on running a six-man rotation whenever “New York plays on more than 10 consecutive days,” per Britton. Scherzer turns 39 years old this coming July and completed multiple stints on the injured list last year. Big-money acquisition Justin Verlander recently turned 40 and underwent Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2020. Carlos Carrasco turns 36 later this month.
As Ryan Chichester pointed out, a problem is that weather-related postponements and injuries often derail such plans ahead of time and may cause somebody such as Scherzer to get out of a natural rhythm. Scherzer indicated he’d be upset about an unplanned irregular schedule.
“If I know ahead of time, it’s OK,” he added. “I like knowing the schedule four or six starts ahead of where we’re lining it up. It lets me navigate the schedule that way.”
The Mets had Scherzer and two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom ready to go for the wild-card series against the San Diego Padres last October. Scherzer produced a dud, and the Amazins were bounced from the playoffs in three games.
Mets owner Steve Cohen is responsible for baseball’s largest payroll and a “World Series or bust” mentality. Temporarily annoying Scherzer and others in July may be worth it for New York come October.
