Mets Bringing Up Rafael Montero

Sandy Alderson said on Monday that Rafael Montero will be brought up from the minors and will start Wednesday against the Yankees. So much for making his debut a non-pressure situation!

Speaking to reporters before the start of the four-game Subway Series, Alderson said Jenrry Mejia will be moved to the bullpen. It is not known who will be sent down or released to make room for Montero, but Jose Valverde has not been pitching much over the past couple of weeks, so he could be the casualty.

The 23-year-old Montero is 4-1 with a 3.67 ERA and averaging a strikeout per inning in Las Vegas this season.

Alderson added that Jacob deGrom could also join the team soon and would pitch out of the bullpen. I would not expect that to happen until mid-June, when the Super Two deadline passes.

Actually, I am surprised that Alderson is bringing up Rafael Montero and starting his arbitration clock so soon. Perhaps this is temporary and Montero will be sent back down before accumulating enough service time to qualify as a Super Two,

Or perhaps this is an audition for a possible trade. The Mets have more pitchers than spots in the rotation and they desperately need hitting. Some kind of swap makes sense, if not with Montero, then maybe for one of the Mets veteran starters, and Alderson wants to make sure Rafael Montero can replace him before pulling the trigger.

Or maybe Alderson has nothing further in mind. Yeah, it’s probably that.