Heading into the 2015, the Mets selected Sean Gilmartin in the Rule 5 Draft. Even though he is left-handed, he never developed into the LOOGY some might’ve imagined him to be. He has reverse splits. 

Rather than handing him back to the Twins, the Mets allowed Gilmartin to carve himself a role in the bullpen. He became a very dependable long man in the bullpen. He had a good year pitching 57.1 innings in 50 games. He had a 2.67 ERA, 1.186 WHIP, 2.75 FIP, and a 139 ERA+. At least based upon his past performance, he’s earned the right to reprise his role as the long man in the pen. He’s earned the right to be on the Opening Day roster. 

Is that what is best for the Mets or Gilmartin going forward?  Now that the Mets have kept Gilmartin for a full year, they can send him to the minors this year. The Mets can now choose to decide between whether Gilmartin should be a reliever or a starter. 

Barring injury [knock on every piece of wood within a three mile radius of you right now], the Mets rotation is set. It’s loaded. There is no way Gilmartin will out pitch any of the top four starters. Until Zack Wheeler returns from Tommy John surgery, which should be around June, the Mets will go with Bartolo Colon as the fifth starter. Presumably, he will be the spot starter or injury replacement from that point forward. 

However, that doesn’t mean the Mets won’t need quality minor league starting pitching depth. It’s still possible Wheeler could have a set back in his rehab and/or struggle when he returns. Colon will turn 43 in May. Tom Verducci has already named Noah Syndergaard as a candidate to befall the [disproven] Verducci Effect. Always remember the old adage that you can never have enough pitching. 

Logan Verrett, who had briefly departed the Mets after being picked in the Rule 5 Draft, performed well in spot start duty last year. He also performed well in the bullpen. He’s in the same predicament as Gilmartin. They’re both good enough to pitch in a major league rotation, but they’re got good enough for this Mets rotation. They’re both performed well in the bullpen, yet the Mets bullpen is stronger possibly obviating the need for starters to pitch in the bullpen. 

So overall, Gilmartin and Verrett may very likely start the year in AAA Las Vegas as starting pitchers. The Mets may send them there to have them stretched out in case disaster strikes in the long or short term. If there’s a problem with the bullpen, they can also get called up to fill that role. Overall, it’s better to be stretched out than it is to need to be stretched out. 
So overall, while Gilmartin is one of the 12 best pitchers in the Mets, he may very well best help the Mets by starting the season in the minors. Starting being the operative term.