Prior to the start of the weekend series between the Mets and Braves on Friday night, manager Carlos Mendoza and President of Baseball Operations David Stearns spoke about the plan for the pitching staff…
Will Sean Manaea be used as a traditional starter this season?
With Manaea set to pitch in Saturday’s game against the Braves, the question of how the Mets will utilize Manaea in this series and moving forward was brought up.
Advertisement
Mendoza said that he hasn’t made a final decision on whether to use Manaea in the bulk role against the Braves, but that there’s a chance he could start in the traditional sense.
“I can definitely see him getting to a conventional starting pitcher,” Mendoza said. “He continues to throw the ball the way he’s been doing it, we’ve seen that he’s a guy that can carry a rotation. We’re open to anything. At the end of the day, we need this guy to get big outs for us and provide innings for us.”
Mendoza says they are comfortable stretching Manaea out to 80-85 pitches if needed — he’s been in the 70-75 range this season as the bulk guy.
The southpaw has pitched much better of late.
Advertisement
He’s allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last seven outings. In his last five outings as the bulk guy, Manaea has allowed a combined seven runs in 19.2 innings pitched. He’s also struck out 19 batters in that same span.
Role for Tobias Myers
Myers is set to return to the Mets very shortly.
After being optioned back on May 30, Myers is eligible to return in the coming days. While the Mets had hoped to stretch out Myers to be a potential starter when he returned, the needs in the bullpen are too vast.
“The plan was 35-40 pitches and more scripted plan,” Mendoza explained. “But we got to get him to 75-80 pitches [to start] and that is not on the table right now.”
Advertisement
“He’s a big part of this team,” Stearns said of Myers. “We got into a spot where we needed an arm and we had worked him pretty hard and it was the right move to make. He’s a big part of this and at some point, we need him back here.”
Across 20 appearances (two starts), Myers has pitched to a 4.05 ERA with a career-best WHIP of 1.08. In three minor league appearances this season, Myers has allowed one run (unearned) on just one hit across 6.0 IP.
In Myers’ last appearance with Syracuse (June 11), Myers allowed a walk and hit a batter across 2.2 innings pitched while striking out two batters.
Advertisement
“His role is, is going to be whatever we need at that point,” Stearns said of Myers’ role when he returns to the Mets. “He can pitch in the front of games, he can be in the swing capacity like we’ve seen from him at points this year. That’s what makes him special. He can help us in a variety of ways and we’re not going to lock him into a certain role when he comes back.”
And what of Peterson?
After a dud relief appearance from David Peterson in the bulk role, Mendoza and Stearns were asked about the young left-hander’s role moving forward.
Mendoza said he hasn’t discussed it with Stearns just yet, since it’ll be a few days before Peterson can throw again, but said he will use the southpaw out of the bullpen for a few outs if needed.
Advertisement
If not, they’ll make that decision when his turn is up. Stearns echoed those sentiments.
“When Petey is right, it’s a really effective major league pitcher…during my time here, we’ve seen that happen more times than not,” Stearns said. “Clearly, we’re now in a spot where it’s more inconsistent than what he would want or we would want. All of our focus is to get him back to the best version of himself…His performance plus our team needs will dictate the role.”
Peterson allowed six runs on seven hits in his 3.2 innings of work in the Mets’ loss to the Cardinals on June 10. His previous outing saw him pitch four scoreless innings as the bulk guy (May 31 vs. Marlins), but as Stearns said, Peterson’s inconsistency has led them to this point.
In 14 appearances (seven starts), Peterson has pitched to a 5.75 ERA and batters are hitting a combined .294 against him this season.
Read the full article here