The Mets who were long said to have organizational pitching depth are once again at the point where they are pitching Rafael Montero in a pennant race.  Worse yet, the Mets are pitching Montero in this spot because Jon Niese cannot make the start because he had knee surgery.  With that said, it’s Montero who his making the start in place of the injured Jacob deGrom.

Keep in mind this is the same Montero who the Mets were apparently done with Montero this season.

The Mets were disgusted with him last year because they wanted him to pitch because there was a fundamental disagreement between him and the team regarding whether his shoulder was injured enough to pitch.  After pitching horribly in his first Spring Training start, he was one of the first players sent down to minor league Spring Training.  The Mets called him up briefly in April to help a struggling bullpen, but Collins almost refused to pitch him.  After being put on the shelf for a week, he struggled.  Montero then struggled in AAA when he was sent back down leading to his demotion to AA.  With important prospects like Amed Rosario needing to be added to the 40 man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, it appeared Montero’s days in the Mets organization were coming to an end.

Now, with a rash of injuries, the Mets turn again to Montero to make a critical start during a pennant race.  Once again, the Mets hope Montero can be the pitcher they always thought he would be.

In Montero’s first start of the season, he pitched five shutout innings against a Marlins team that was ahead of the Mets in the Wild Card standings.  In those five shutout innings, he gave the Mets a chance to at least outlast Jose Fernandez and get into the Marlins bullpen to eke out a victory.  On the glass half-empty side, you see a pitcher who allowed six walks and was constantly on the brink of disaster.  He was a pitcher who needed 100 pitches to get through those five innings helping tax the Mets bullpen.  On the glass half-full side, you see a pitcher who, despite getting squeezed by the home plate umpire, battled his way and kept his team in the game.  You finally saw Montero persevere.

Tonight, we’re going to find out once again if the glass is half-empty or half-full.  Montero is pitching against a bad Reds team in a hitter’s ballpark. The glass half-full Montero beats a team that he needs to beat.  The glass half-empty Montero struggles in a hitter’s park.  So far, the glass has been half-empty with Montero, but there is still time to change that.