Sometimes, you overthink things. Sometimes, you ignore what works and try to reinvent the wheel. In these instances, things rarely go as planned, and you wind up reverting back to the way things were. 

Last year, Sean Gilmartin pitched extremely effectively as the long man in the Mets bullpen. He went 3-2 with a 2.67 ERA, 1.186 WHIP, 2.75 FIP, and a 139 ERA+. He pitched 57.1 innings in 50 appearances (one start). Last year, he justified the Mets taking him in the Rule 5 draft, and he showed the Mets why he should be in the Opening Day bullpen. 

After Logan Verrett was returned to the Mets from the Texas Rangers (Verrett was also a Rule 5 pick), the Mets used him both out of the bullpen and as a starter. However, it was as spot starter where Verrett really shined. In his four starts, he went 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.030 WHIP. His work allowed the Mets to manage Matt Harvey‘s innings so he could pitch unencumbered in the postseason. Verrett showed his ability as a spot starter and reliever thereby showing the Mets he belonged on the 2016 Opening Day roster. 
Naturally, despite Gilmartin being a good long man and Verrett being a good spot starter, the Mets decided to flip their roles for 2016. Verrett is now the long man in the bullpen. Gilmartin will report to AAA where he will be a starting pitcher.  When there is an injury or fatigue, he should be the first one called up from AAA to make a spot start.  This seems like overthinking things. It probably would’ve been better to leave the two pitchers in roles in which they excelled. 

Hopefully, the Mets aren’t revisiting this decision in a month or two. Hopefully, the Mets aren’t left realizing they should’ve left the players in their roles because they were very well suited for those roles. Hopefully, Gilmartin and Verrett build upon the strong seasons they had last year.