THE FUTURE
none earned, on two hits against a terrible Phillies lineup.
So with a rotation that is already severely limited because of injuries, the Mets need to know what they can expect from Wheeler and just how far they can reasonably push him.
There was no progress to report Friday on Matt Harvey, who has been on the disabled list with a stress injury to a bone in his right shoulder since June 16, or Noah Syndergaard, who has not picked up a ball since he tore his right lat muscle April 30.
The Mets not only have to be careful with Wheeler, but they have to keep close tabs on the health of Steven Matz (who began the season on the DL with elbow soreness) and Seth Lugo (who began the season on the DL with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament).
But like any pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery — Wheeler’s was in March 2015 — the Mets have to keep a very close eye on his work load. In 2014, the last season he pitched before surgery, Wheeler pitched 185.1 innings. The Mets had talked about an innings limit around 130 during spring.
But they have not begun the discussions about Wheeler going forward for the second half yet; they want to see how he looks Saturday. They could talk about shutting him down early, skipping starts — though with injuries they would be hard pressed to come up with a spot starter — and even possibly using him out of the bullpen.
That is a long shot, considering he has never done it and there are concerns about his ability to pitch on consecutive days, but it was an idea floated by GM Sandy Alderson this winter.
“When you’re talking about the bullpen, you’re talking about can he pitch two days in a row. That’s where it’s at. His stuff will play anywhere when it’s good but if you’re going to put him in the bullpen and you pitch him tonight and he throws 25, when’s he going to be able to go out there again?” Collins said. “In our certain situation, we’re trying to get back in the race. The development side has to take a backseat right now. We need to get back in this race and that’s by putting our guys back out there.” heeler, especially, is one of the pitchers the Mets need healthy and productive to help rebound in the second half. In his first 11 starts, he was solid, pitching to a 3.45 ERA.
Saturday is a big outing, so the club can begin discussing how to plan Wheeler’s future.
W