Mets welcome historically bad Rockies to town

Plus, the Mets have a couple of injured pitchers returning soon - how do they fit them in?

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What’s up with the Mets? ⚾

• The Mets were off on Thursday - they open a three-game series with the Rockies tonight at Citi Field

• SS Francisco Lindor checks in with every player after every series to strengthen the bonds with his teammates (Athletic)

• The Mets as a team are struggling mightily with runners in scoring position but changing the hitting coaches might not necessarily yield results (Newsday)

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Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Frankie Montas (lat injury) finished his second rehab start with a final line of 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K with Brooklyn

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• 2B Ronny Mauricio (No. 9 prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB

• RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 15 prospect, Triple-A): 5.2 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 K

• RHP Jonah Tong (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 6.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 BB, 7 K

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | | Double-A BNG GM 1 GM 2 | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (34-22) vs. Rockies (9-47)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: LHP David Peterson (3-2, 2.79 ERA) vs. LHP Kyle Freeland (0-7, 5.86 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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What should the Mets do when Frankie Montas returns?✍️

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Frankie Montas just completed his second rehab start and showed improvement over his first rehab appearance, where he could not complete two innings in High-A ball. The Mets signed the righty in the offseason to be a key piece of the rotation when he inked a two-year deal worth $34 million with an opt-out after the first year.

So far, the Mets rotation hasn’t just survived both Montas and Sean Manaea being sidelined to start the year, but they have thrived. In terms of staff ERA, the Mets lead the league with a 2.91 ERA, and they have excelled at keeping the ball in the ballpark, allowing just 0.69 HR/9, which is also the best in the league.

Unfortunately, recently there have been some cracks in the rotation.

Tylor Megill has had an up-and-down season, and over his last seven starts, he is 2-2 with a 4.72 ERA, and Griffin Canning’s last two starts were both shaky, even though one was shortened due to a rain delay.

The rest of the rotation, while pitching well, are not pitching deep into games. In total, they have only pitched 287.1 innings, which is good for only 19th in the majors.

So, any help the Mets can get at this point in the season can only be a positive although it’s unfair to expect Montas, Manaea or even Paul Blackburn to provide significant length immediately upon returning.

The Mets can send Megill to the minors since he still has minor league options, which could make him a roster casualty when everyone is healthy. The Mets could also send someone to the bullpen as the long man, but they will need arms stretched out for when they need a spot starter or when they need to go to a six-man rotation to keep Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes fresh.

The Mets could also simply go to a six-man rotation with Montas, option Megill, and call it a day and have Blackburn in the rotation. How that would look with Manaea in the rotation is a different story altogether, but he hasn’t yet started a rehab assignment, so we could be a month away from that conversation, and, as we all know, things tend to take care of themselves when it comes to pitching.

Even so, these are all good problems with what has been a quality rotation without two big pieces over the first third of the season. The Mets have obviously done a masterful job of identifying arms, reclaiming them, utilizing their strengths, and protecting their weaknesses in-game. Despite the last couple of outings, Canning has been great, they have been right about Holmes’ ability to transition to a starter, and those decisions have unquestionably paid dividends, not to mention stave off the damage left behind by Manaea's and Montas’ medium-term injuries.

And, we don’t even know if they got it right with Montas yet.

In the end, Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns and co. did a great job building depth in the offseason, and that depth was tested early on, but now that they are all getting healthy, the team will have some decisions to make in the coming weeks.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Dodgers acquired RHP Alexis Diaz from the Reds in exchange for minor league reliever Mike Villani

• Braves RHP AJ Smith-Shawver was placed on the IL with a strained right elbow after exiting game one Atlanta’s doubleheader early

• Angels OF Mike Trout is expected to come off of the IL this weekend against the Guardians

• White Sox reliever Miguel Castro is expected to miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee against the Mets