Robert Gsellman
There’s having a short bench due to injuries, and then there is what the Mets did last night.
With the Mets needing to skips Jacob deGrom start, the Mets needed to call up a starter to take his place in the rotation. The corollary to that is the Mets needed to send someone down to make room for Rafael Montero on the roster.
The obvious choice was Robert Gsellman. Gsellman had just started on Sunday meaning he was not slated to pitch until Friday. However, he wasn’t going to start on Friday. That start is going to go to Steven Matz, who by all accounts, will be ready to come off the disabled list. With Matz reclaiming his rotation spot, Gsellman was not needed.
Instead, the Mets sent down T.J. Rivera. They sent down T.J. Rivera even though Neil Walker has had to miss a few games with a lingering back injury. Rivera was sent down despite Asdrubal Cabrera having to leave Sunday’s game due to a re-aggravation of his knee injury. Rivera was sent down even though he was the only thing resembling healthy versatile infield depth on the Mets roster. Rivera being sent down meant the Mets had no margin of error on the infield. It was something that was almost a huge issue last night as A.J. Ramos fell on Jose Reyes‘ shoulder as Reyes scored on a wild pitch.
It also meant the Mets had a short bench last night. With Rafael Montero only being able to go five innings, Terry Collins had to use Jacob deGrom to pinch hit. In an effort to win the game with one swing, Collins burned Rene Rivera and then turned to Jay Bruce. When Bruce didn’t deliver, the Mets best pinch hitting option remaining was Noah Syndergaard. Fortunately, like he has done so many times in the past, Yoenis Cespedes bailed out the Mets with a tenth inning walk off home run.
Like it has most of the season, the Mets handling of the roster has been left a lot to be desired. It might not have cost them last night’s game, but it has cost them games this season. With only two more days before rosters expand, hopefully, the days of the Mets purposefully playing with a short roster are behind us.
The Mets have a back-end of the bullpen problem as no one has stepped up to claim that final spot.
For the second straight night, Sean Gilmartin had a tough outing. Overall, it has been a lost year for him with his shoulder injury and the fact that he has an 8.10 ERA in the majors this year.
He took over the spot of Erik Goeddel, who has had a disappointing year. He has a history of injuries, and he has been overworked by Terry Collins. The end result is a 4.55 ERA in 29 appearances.
One of the pleasant surprises to the season that Terry Collins helped ruined is Jim Henderson. Since coming off the disabled list, he has allowed two runs in 2.2 innings. In 29 appearances since throwing a career high 34 pitches, Henderson has a 4.74 ERA and a 1.378 WHIP.
Another nice story is Josh Smoker, who has fought his way from the Independent Leagues to the majors. Still, he has a 6.75 ERA with a 1.750 WHIP in five appearances.
Smoker has taken the place of Josh Edgin who has not fully regained his velocity in his first season after Tommy John surgery. In his limited appearances, he has a 9.82 ERA and a 1.909 WHIP.
In addition to these relievers, the Mets have tried some starters in the pen. Collins showed he had no use for Rafael Montero, who justified Collins’ refusal to play him, by pitching poorly when he finally got a shot. Gabriel Ynoa struggled out of the pen. With Steven Matz going on the disabled list, Robert Gsellman is in the rotation. Furthermore, with the Mets needing to skip a Jacob deGrom start, Montero will start on Monday.
The Mets have searched high and low, and they still haven’t found the answer in the bullpen. They haven’t found the pitcher who will be both effective and be able to allow Collins to give the overworked Hansel Robles, Addison Reed, and Jeurys Familia a break. It’s frustrating because the Mets have seemingly looked everywhere for a solution.
That is everywhere but Las Vegas 51s closer Paul Sewald. It’s strange the Mets haven’t turned to Sewald as he’s certainly merited a call-up.
In 52 appearances, Sewald is 5-3 with 19 saves, a 3.52 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and an astounding 11.2 K/9. Further justifying a call-up is the fact that Sewald is currently pitching the best he has all year. After the All Star Break, Sewald has saved six games with a 2.25 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and a 12.6 K/9 in 16 appearances. These numbers are all the more impressive when you consider Sewald is doing this in the extremely hitter friendly Pacific Coast League.
Consider current Mets savior Seth Lugo had a 7.73 ERA in the Pacific Coast League, and he has a 2.51 ERA in the majors. As Lugo had showed, success at the majors is all about a pitcher’s arsenal.
Sewald has similar stuff to Reed, who has been brilliant since coming under the tutelage of pitching coach Dan Warthen. Sewald features a low nineties fastball and a plus slider. He maximizes on his repertoire by studying scouting reports. It also helps that Sewald pounds the strike zone. Long story short he had the stuff to compete at the major league level.
The only question is whether he will get the chance. He should as the Mets have looked elsewhere and still haven’t found someone they can rely upon in the back end of the bullpen. They should be able to rely on Sewald.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsminors.net
Through the first six innings, Robert Gsellman did his job even though he needed a lot of help with the Phillies getting two runners thrown out at home.
In the third, the speedy Freddy Galvis tried to sneak home from third when Cesar Hernandez grounded out to Gsellman. An alert James Loney nailed Galvis at the plate. Again, it seems like everyone wants to pull this play off against the Mets since Eric Hosmer surprised everyone, including Lucas Duda, in the World Series.
In the fourth, Aaron Altherr wasn’t exactly busting it from first on a Jimmy Paredes RBI double. The Jay Bruce to Kelly Johnson relay nailed Atherr at the plate. Instead of it being 2-1 Phillies. The game would be tied at one.
Still, it was 1-1 heading into the seventh inning. With Gsellman due to leadoff the next inning, Terry Collins left him in the game. Collins might’ve left him in because Gsellman pitched reasonably well, and he had a reasonable low pitch count. He could’ve left him in because the Mets already lost Asdrubal Cabrera earlier in the game with a knee injury after a collision with Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph (initially, it appeared to be a wrist injury). He might’ve left him in because he wanted to give a still hobbled Yoenis Cespedes and a presumably tired new father, Neil Walker, a full day off. Whatever the case, Collins decision was defendable if not risky. It was a fateful decision.
The Phillies led off the seventh with three straight singles. The rally started when Joseph singled past Loney, who has shown himself to have little range and not quick to the ball. The three singles loaded the bases bringing up new Phillie A.J. Ellis. As usual, Ellis is struggling at the plate this season, but the catcher has a penchant for big hits. With that in mind, Collins went to Hansel Robles to get out of the bases loaded no out jam. To build off the meme, Hansel is so cold right now.
Ellis hit a two RBI double that one hopped the wall giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead. After an intentional walk to re-load the bases, Robles got ahead of Peter Bourjos 0-2. He would then hit the lite hitting Bourjos on the wrist making it a 4-1 game. Jerry Blevins came on and allowed a sacrifice fly making the score 5-1.
Jim Henderson relieved Blevins, and he got the last out of the inning. Henderson just pitched the eighth even though he pitched yesterday and he’s coming back from ANOTHER shoulder injury.
Gsellman took the loss after he gave the Mets a much better start than they probably anticipated. His final line was six innings, seven hits, four runs, four earned, one walk, and five strikeouts. Keep in mind, he allowed three hits without recording an out in the seventh, and Robles allowed all of his runners to score. Arguably, Gsellman deserved a much better fate.
However, the Mets, as a team, did not deserve a better fate.
The only major threat they built was in the first inning when they loaded the bases with one out. They would only get one run on a Curtis Granderson sacrifice fly scoring Wilmer Flores, who came on for the injured Cabrera. The Mets then did little against Vince Velasquez and then for the following four innings against a pretty weak Phillies bullpen.
In the bottom of the sixth, before the ill fated seventh inning, Travis d’Arnaud battled back from an 0-2 count only to ground out thereby stranding Alejandro De Aza at third. Once again, hitting with runners in scoring position was the difference between winning and losing.
The Mets lost a game that was in front of them to win. If they want to get that second Wild Card, they are not only going to need to win games like these, but they are also going to have to sweep series against bad teams like the Phillies. If not, they’re not going to make up the necessary ground they need to make.
Game Notes: Bruce again did nothing much at the plate going 1-4 with a strikeout.
Pennant Race: The Marlins lost to the Padres 3-1. The Nationals lost to the Rockies 5-3. The Pirates beat the Brewers 3-1. The Cardinals lost to the Athletics 7-4.
Back in 2007, the Mets collapsed in part due to a rash of pitcher injuries. Pedro Martinez missed most of the year following offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum. An injured Orlando Hernandez (El Duque) had to be moved out of the rotation and into the bullpen. With they myriad of injuries, Mike Pelfrey was put in the rotation before he was truly ready. Brian Lawrence made a few poor starts. With the walls crashing in on the Mets and the Phillies gaining on them, the Mets had to turn to Philip Humber.
Humber was the third overall pick in the 2004 draft. In his career, he never lived up to that billing. It could have been that he was damaged goods coming from Rice University, who is well known for abusing pitcher arms. He did have ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery before his major league debut. It could be that he was rushed through the system never being given proper time to develop. It could any single factor or any combination thereof. It could just be that he just wasn’t good enough to be a top line starting pitcher.
He certainly wasn’t on September 27, 2007. His final line was four innings, six hits, five runs, five earned, two walks, no strikeouts, and one home run allowed. Humber did his best to battle that night, but he either wasn’t ready or wasn’t capable of winning a big game like that. The only reason he didn’t take the loss was the Mets staked him to a 4-0 and a 6-2 lead. It would be his last game as a Met as he would be part of the Johan Santana trade. It was also the last day the Mets would have sole possession of first place as the loss would drop them to only one up in the division.
Like in 2007, the starting pitching is dropping like flies. Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and even Jon Niese have found themselves on the disabled list. Logan Verrett has served as this year’s Lawrence. Robert Gsellman serves as this year’s Pelfrey. However, Lugo isn’t quite this year’s Humber. They really have nothing in common.
Whereas Humber was a high draft pick, Lugo was a 34th round draft pick. While Humber was pushed through the minors without mastering a level, Lugo has performed at each and every level having to prove himself over and over again. During his career, Humber had trouble developing a real outpitch. Conversely, Lugo has a terrific curveball that has already fooled Anthony Rizzo, who is a terrific major league hitter. More importantly, the main difference between Humber and Lugo is Lugo has already had success as a pitcher for the Mets.
In nine appearances as a reliever, Lugo pitched 17.0 innings and had a 2.65 ERA. When injuries forced him to make an unexpected start, Lugo was better than anyone could have imagined. He was not only good, but he was efficient. When Lugo walked off the mound, he had pitched 6.2 innings allowing seven hits, one run, one earned, and one walk with three strikeouts. At a minimum, Lugo has shown everyone he has the capability of being a good and reliable major league pitcher.
During this season, this Mets team has been compared to past Mets teams that have failed. Namely, they have been compared to the 1987, 2001, and 2007 teams. You can go up and down the line and compare different aspects of those teams to this current team. However, those comparisons need to stop with Lugo as everyone should have faith when Lugo steps on the mound.
With Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and now Robert Gsellman, the Mets feature a team with a number a players with long flowing locks:
Whose flow is best? Reply with who you think rules the #Mets hair game. #LGM pic.twitter.com/aC2Dgbz86S
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 23, 2016
None of that could prepare you for the Gary Cohen photo from college during the game last night:
Who knew Gary Cohen was a hippy? Heck, who knew he had hair?
At this point, seeing Gary Cohen, it’s fair to say none of the Mets will beat either this photo or this hair style.
For some reason or other, the Mets went with an injured and bad Jon Niese over a healthy and ready Robert Gsellman. One thing was for certain, no matter who started, the Mets needed an early lead and hold on.
The Mets just did that. Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera led off the game with back-to-back singles, and then they pulled off a double steal. Cleanup hitter Wilmer Flores then hit a three run homer to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.
Niese would give it right back even with Ron Darling saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger, but Niese is 55-3 with a three run lead.”
Niese allowed three of the first batters to reach base narrowing the lead to 3-1. Then his knee became too much for him. Terry Collins then went to Gsellman with one out and runners on first and second. Gsellman was greeted by a Yadier Molina game tying RBI double.
Gsellman would escape the first without allowing another run. Gsellman would be in trouble most of the night, but he would bend but not break. He was really helped by some terrific Mets defense.
Asdrubal is a vacuum. #LGM #Mets 6-3 | End 4 pic.twitter.com/ttHR8efTAK
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 24, 2016
Even with the struggles, Gsellman would earn his first win in his first ever game. His final line was 3.2 innings, two hits, no runs, none earned, three walks, and two strikeouts.
Gsellman was in line for the win as the Mets offense responded immediately to losing the lead. Travis d’Arnaud would hit a one out single and move to second on a Gsellman sacrifice bunt. Reyes then singled him home as it seems every time d’Arnaud finda his way into scoring position, Reyes singles him home. Cabrera then doubled home Reyes to make it a 5-3 game.
Justin Ruggiano effectively closed the book on Cardinals Jaime Garcia with a monster home run:
Garcia only lasted four innings himself in taking the loss allowing seven hits, six runs, six earned, and one walk with six strikeouts.
Things calmed down once it became a battle of the bullpens. Alexander Reyes flashed his dominant stuff shutting the Mets down over 2.1 innings.
Josh Smoker pitched two tension filled innings, but he only allowed one run on a monster Randal Grichuk solo homer in the sixth. There wouldn’t be another as Yoenis Cespedes robbed Stephen Piscotty of a homer:
It was an even bigger play when you consider Cespedes seemingly tweaked his quad chasing down a liner in the first.
In the seventh, Jerry Blevins and his tight firearm left a runner on with one out. Jim Henderson would then make his first appearance since coming off the DL. He got the Mets out of the inning, and he punctuated it by striking out Jedd Gyorko looking to end the inning.
Like every other Mets pitcher, Addison Reed pitched into trouble, but he got out of it unscathed. Jeurys Familia was the only one of the Mets seven pitchers to have a 1-2-3 inning in recording his 42nd save.
At least for one night, the Mets and Cardinals switched places. The Cardinals were 2-10 with RISP leaving 11 men on base. The Mets were 5-10 with RISP including a James Loney ninth inning RBI single to make it 7-4.
The Mets have finally won three in a row since the All Star Break. The Mets are now 3.5 games back of the Cardinals in the race for the second Wild Card.
Game Notes: Neil Walker missed the game as he is on paternity leave. His wife gave birth to a baby girl, Nora Vail Walker. T.J. Rivera is taking his spot until he returns. Curtis Granderson didn’t start with the lefty starter. Jay Bruce would go 0-5 with two strikeouts. He is now two for his last 22.
Pennant Race: The Marlins lost to the Royals 1-0. The Nationals lost to the Orioles 8-1. The Pirates beat the Astros 7-1.
Hopefully, the Mets will be in peak defensive form as the team is going to send Jon Niese to the mound in a critical three game set in St. Louis. How did we get to this point?
Plain and simple, a mixture of bad luck and bad planning. Niese was never supposed to be a Met in 2016. The Mets traded him for Neil Walker, and with his reasonably affordable option years, it was presumed that he would be a Pirate through the 2018 season. However, Niese was horrendous this season leaving the Pirates to demote him to the bullpen. They were clearly going to let him walk after the season was over. Fortunately for the Pirates, they were able to get rid of him even sooner.
The Mets had to contend with Matt Harvey‘s season ending surgery which left a hole in the rotation Logan Verrett couldn’t quite fill. Despite know this, the Mets kept turning to Verrett as they did not trust Gabriel Ynoa, Robert Gsellman, or Seth Lugo. Sean Gilmartin went down with a shoulder injury. Additionally, the Mets had the under-performing Antonio Bastardo in the bullpen. The Mets were probably the one team who could use Niese as a bullpen arm and/or a possible fifth starter. They were probably also the one team that believed they could salvage Niese.
As it turns out, the Mets desperately needed Niese. Verrett couldn’t handle being the fifth starter. Ynoa appeared as if the wasn’t ready in his short stint in the Mets bullpen. Gsellman isn’t putting up great numbers in AAA. Worst of all, Steven Matz was just diagnosed with a mild rotator cuff strain. It is quite possible the Mets will need to not only replace Harvey, but also Matz for the rest of the season. That will put Seth Lugo in the rotation. It also means the Mets will have to keep Niese in the rotation for the remainder of the season.
It’s strange to think about it. Niese was the first pitcher removed from the rotation last season. The Mets seemingly wanted to get rid of him. Now? Now, he is a key part of a rotation that is taking the ball to start what is the Mets most critical series to date.
Niese has his fair share of detractors due to his struggles and his inability to accept any blame for his poor pitching. Detractors could also be synonymous with Mets fans in this case. With a big finish to the season, Niese can win over a large group of Mets fans. That all begins tonight.
Somehow, some way, the Niese are relying on Jon Niese yet again. It’s strange how it came to this point, but here we all are. Let’s hope Niese makes the best of it because if the does, the Mets will return to the postseason.
With the Mets finally admitting that Logan Verrett was not capable of being the team’s fifth starter for the rest of the season, the Mets had to make a decision on who should be the fifth starter for the rest of the year.
Seemingly, there were a few options. The first was Robert Gsellman who has made significant strides this year in the minors, but is struggling in AAA going 1-5 with a 5.70 ERA and a 1.406 WHIP. The other option was Seth Lugo, who has pitched fairly well out of the Mets bullpen, but he has not been fully stretched out. There was also Gabriel Ynoa, who entered the season as the Mets top rated pitching prospect in AAA as the year began. Ynoa started the year strong, but he pitched to a 6.64 ERA in June and July this year.
Given the fact that the younger Mets arms didn’t seem ready, it is no surprise the Mets turned to recently acquired Jon Niese to be the new fifth starter. Niese has been horrendous this year, but with Dan Warthen as his pitching coach, Niese has been a .500 pitcher with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.365 WHIP. These are not great numbers, but these are numbers that you can live with from your fifth starter.
However, what is surprising was the Mets calling up Ynoa to be the long man in the bullpen. First and foremost, Lugo has done a good job as the long man in the Mets bullpen. In his seven appearances, Lugo has pitched 13.2 innings with a 2.63 ERA and an 0.878 WHIP. More than that, Lugo is actually a reliever. Due to his own struggles in AAA, Lugo was demoted to the bullpen where he was used as a reliever. Lugo has actually made appearances in back-to-back games and appeared in a number of different scenarios.
Ynoa hasn’t. Before being called up to the majors, Ynoa last made a relief apperance on August 26th of last year. In that relief appearance, Ynoa was on regular rest, and he pitched two innings after a Steven Matz rehab start. Prior to that Ynoa last made a relief appearance as an 18 year old pitching in the Gulf Coast League. It should be noted that in those three relief appearances, Ynoa was piggybacking the starting pitcher. In essence, Ynoa has never truly been a relief pitcher in his entire professional career.
That didn’t stop the Mets from making him one for the first time in the majors. Not only that, it didn’t stop Terry Collins from using Ynoa in back-to-back games. That is all the more startling when you consider the fact that Ynoa HAS NEVER pitched in back-to-back games in his professional career. This is no way to treat a 23 year old pitcher who very well could be a part of the Mets rotation within the next year or two.
If the Mets truly believed he was ready to get called-up to the majors, it is hard to dispute that especially seeing how poised he was on the mound in his first two appearances. However, with that said, if you’re calling him up, why not put him in the rotation and leave Niese in the bullpen where he has had some experience and some success? It’s not like Niese is fully stretched out, and it’s not like Niese has exactly earned the opportunity especially since Niese was given the rotation spot AFTER allowing six earned runs in an inning.
Instead of doing the obvious, the Mets are putting Niese in the rotation and Ynoa in the bullpen. It doesn’t make any sense.