On Monday afternoon the New York Mets designated starter Dillon Gee for assignment after he allowed a career-high eight runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The move brings the club one step closer to calling up another top prospect.
Left-hander Steven Matz has been the subject of such speculation amid the struggles of Gee and Jon Niese. Rumors suggest the Mets have been trying to trade the two veterans to make room for Matz, but it's clear that will be difficult moving forward because they have been the two worst pitchers in the rotation.
New York needs to stand their ground atop the NL East and Matz, who is 6-4 with a 2.30 ERA and 1.149 WHIP in 13 games (12 starts) at Triple-A Las Vegas, is the next prospect in the Mets' farm system to earn a promotion. It's believed he can immediately help the rotation and some scouts have said he has better stuff than all the Mets' starters except Matt Harvey.
Mets' manager Terry Collins said yesterday that Matz has been pitching well and when the team needs another starter he has to be considered. New York needs to keep Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard on a limited workload to have them available for the entire season and possibly the playoffs, which is why they were using Gee as the sixth man in their rotation. However, that wasn't working.
"The Mets still need a plan to make sure they don't run out of their allotted innings for Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and [Noah] Syndergaard, but forcing the issue with Gee as the occasional sixth starter made no sense," writes John Harper of the New York Daily News.
"Meanwhile, in Matz they have a top prospect dominating the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
"Two weeks ago a scout who had seen three of Matz's starts told me simply, 'He's ready for a higher league.'"
There was talk about moving Syndergaard into a relief role to further limit his innings, but with the way he's been pitching it's doubtful the team goes in that direction. Collins says they're staying with a five-man rotation for now, but that will not be the case for the rest of the way.
"The Mets still plan to use a spot starter on occasion to give their five rotation members extra rest and to conserve their innings. Left-hander Steven Matz now becomes the primary candidate for those assignments," writes Rubin.
In fact, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted yesterday that Matz will get promoted to the MLB on July 1 and Niese could become the guy that bounces back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen.
Matz will potentially provide a much-needed reliable left arm in the Mets' rotation. His promotion is imminent and he'll soon be a part of the "Year of the Call-Up."
