After contentious discussions, the MLB lockout is over and teams have begun their spring training schedules. Opening Day has been pushed to April 14, which gives teams some extra time to finalize their rosters and rotations. In this series, TGH will be summarizing each team’s 2021 season and predicting their Opening Day pitching rotation. Here is the projected New York Mets pitching rotation for 2022.
In 2021, with a record of 77-85, the Mets secured their fourth losing season in the last five years. They did this in spite of spending over 100 days in first place in the NL East. Speaking of the NL East, since the Atlanta Braves won the World Series, the Mets now sit as the only team in the division to not win the World Series in the since the turn of the century.
Manager Luis Rojas was let go in favor of an MLB mainstay in Buck Showalter for 2022. Showalter has been Manager of the Year three times, with the Yankees, the Rangers and the Orioles. Here is a look at the pitching rotation he could roll out to get the Mets back into the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
Obviously, Scherzer should be the Opening Day starter, but a hamstring issue is forcing him to start second. That will be shuffled around as the season pushes on. Bassitt, however, is a good alternative. He put up a 3.15 ERA, and went 12-4 in 27 starts.
Scherzer is one of the best pitchers in baseball, bar none. He is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, an eight-time All Star and World Series champion. He spent half of 2021 in Los Angeles, as their super team fell short of the World Series. Regardless of last season’s stats, he deserves the superstar treatment.
Carrasco has been subject to many injuries since missing much of the 2016 World Series with Cleveland. That being said, he can still be productive and put up good numbers if he can put in the innings. Last year, his first with the Mets, was not great, as he had an ERA over 6.00, but he only pitched 53.2 innings. He deserves the third slot.
Megill got his first MLB work last year, starting 18 games. He pitched 89.2 innings and had a respectable enough ERA of 4.52. He should pick things up this year as he gets more starts and innings underneath his belt.
In his first season as a Met, Walker earned an All Star selection. The long-time Mariner and Diamondback pitched 159 innings and had an ERA of 4.47. He did go just 4-7 in the win-loss column in 30 games (29 starts), but as the team waits for Jacob DeGrom to return, he gets a slot in the rotation until May-ish.
Featured image courtesy of Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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