Could Mets Use 6-Man Pitching Rotation in 2015?
Going into the off-season, the Mets will have the enviable problem of what to do with their surplus of young starting pitching. Trade a couple for a bat? Stash a couple in the minors or the bullpen in case someone breaks down or flops? How about not doing any of that and going with a six-man rotation?
I am actually not a fan of the idea; in fact, I have advocated a modified four-man rotation to make pitchers throw even more. But I could see the Mets going to six. Like most teams, the Mets are protective, some would say over-protective, of their young arms. Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard will certainly have some kind of inning limits. And the workloads of Zack Wheeler and Jacob deGrom will be closely monitored. Having a six-man rotation would take care of those problems.
The Mets would be in a position to do this because not only do they have a quantity of pitchers, they also have quality. Harvey, Syndergaard, Wheeler, deGrom, Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee would be a pretty deep six-man rotation (with Bartolo Colon being traded for whatever they can get).
Some theories say the rash of Tommy John surgeries is caused by pitchers throwing when their arms are tired. Well, with an extra day off, being tired should not be problem. It might also allow pitchers to go deeper into games because they will be well rested for their starts.
With the way the Mets roster is currently constituted, this is an option that should be explored.
i know ron darling has a theory that pitchers are getting hurt more b/c they’re actually throwing less nowadays, and so they’re throwing schedules are less consistent. Whereas it used to be year round throwing, with lighter throwing during the winter
honestly i think the more they try to control it, the more things go wrong, just let them throw and make sure they tell you if their arm is sore, fatigued, etc