Mets open a weekend series in Miami, and why they must re-sign Chris Bassitt
David Peterson gets the ball in the series opener with the Marlins as the Mets hope to start rebuilding their division lead over Atlanta
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets were off yesterday and will begin a three game weekend series in Miami tonight
Thanks to the injury to Max Scherzer, David Peterson is back as a regular member of the Mets’ starting five, and the southpaw gets the ball to open the series with the Marlins
James McCann was named the Mets nominee for the Roberto Clemente award
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Yoan López was returned to Triple-A Syracuse after serving as the 29th man in Wednesday’s double header
Injury Updates 🏥
IF Luis Guillorme (groin strain) played his second rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse and went 1-for-3
The Pennant Race 🏁
Magic Number to win the NL East: 2️⃣5️⃣
NL East lead: 1/2 game
Win the National League East: 63.8 percent ⬆️
Clinch a first round bye: 63.7 percent ⬆️
Win the World Series: 14.5 percent ⬇️
Playoff odds courtesy of FanGraphs
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (87-51) @ Marlins (56-80)
Where: loanDepot Park — Miami, Florida
Starters: LHP David Peterson (7-3, 3.32 ERA) vs. RHP Edward Cabrera (4-2, 2.39 ERA)
When: 6:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Chris Bassitt has become a must have for the Mets in the future 📝
The Mets are slated to have several of their important pitchers hit the free-agent market following this season. Jacob deGrom has been vocal about his intention to trigger the opt out in his contract, all-star closer Edwin Diaz is having a career-year in his walk year, and back-end starters Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker are both going to hit the open market as well.
With all of that said, on a staff that could look a lot different a year from now, free-agent to-be Chris Bassitt has emerged as someone New York simply cannot afford to let walk.
Regardless of deGrom’s status—which for what it’s worth it’s hard to see Steve Cohen and his deep pockets actually letting the best pitcher on the planet depart unless he simply doesn’t want to stay with the Mets—retaining Bassitt is critical for several reasons.
For starters (no pun intended, of course), the reason the Mets are considered a legitimate threat to make a deep run in October is the quality of the top portion of their starting rotation. deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Bassitt would all be the best starter on most teams in the big leagues, and New York’s ability to throw the three of them in a short playoff series is daunting for any team that opposes them. And while deGrom and Scherzer are both obviously household names, Bassitt is starting to get the national attention he deserves now that he’s performing on the big stage in New York.
In 26 starts thus far in 2022 the right-hander has delivered a 3.24 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP, while averaging 6.2 IP/start and holding opposing hitters to a .234 batting average. His ability to consistently take the ball every fiftth day and his ability to go deep in most of his starts has been invaluable to this team, especially lately with the bullpen being taxed due to short starts from other parts of the rotation. Bassitt has spoken openly about his desire to be an innings eater for his team, to protect the bullpen and take pressure off of the other starters.
He’s checked all of those boxes emphatically. But to me, Bassitt’s value has transcended his ability and performance on the mound.
Similar to Scherzer, he’s brought an attitude and moxie to this team that has been sorely lacking for far too long. His quote after his first start about facing Juan Soto says all anyone needs to know about Bassitt and how he operates:
“I don’t care who you are, I’m coming after you.”
More recently, Bassitt’s personal ability to never get too high or too low is admirable. After winning the rubber game in that huge series against the Dodgers last week, he wasn’t willing to make more of it than it was. He called it simply a good win against a good team, no more than that.
When it seemed like the sky was falling a few days ago with New York dropping three in a row to last place teams and seeing their division lead evaporate, Bassitt delivered big time in the first game of the doubleheader in Pittsburgh on Wednesday and turned the ship right back around for the club. Afterwards, he stressed how the New York media can be a little extreme and that it was just three days and we’re fine.
The veteran has unquestionably earned himself a significant free-agent contract in the coming months, but he’s spoken candidly about enjoying his time in New York more than he even expected to, and he’s noticeably formed quite a connection with both deGrom and Scherzer on a personal level. That’s yet another part of the reason bringing Bassitt back is paramount, along with deGrom.
If they can be armed with these big three starting pitchers, the Mets would be a force to be reckoned with for a long time.
Down on the Farm 🌾
Jose Butto (RHP, No. 15 Prospect, Triple-A): 7 IP, 4 H, 3 K
Ronny Mauricio (SS, No. 6 Prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, RBI, 2B, R, BB
Dominic Hamel (RHP, No. 12 Prospect, Single-A): 7 IP (W), 4 H, 1 BB, 8 K
Box Scores: Triple-A | Double-A | Single-A | Low-A (PPD)
Around the League 🚩
The league is expected to pass rule changes such as the pitch clock, shift restrictions, and larger bases later on today
David Robertson allowed two runs in the 9th to blow the save and the Phillies fell to Miami 6-5
The Brewers swept a double header with the Giants and gained 1.5 games on the Phillies to pull within 2.5 of the final wild card spot
Nelson Cruz and Cesar Hernandez each recorded three hits in the Nationals’ 11-6 victory over St. Louis
The Yankees left the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th and dropped the final game of their series with Minnesota, 4-3