Mets fans everywhere rejoiced when the Amazin's were able to sign the biggest free agent on the market this off season in landing Juan Soto. The electric outfielder will be the face of the Mets franchise for decades to come. They also resigned Pete Alonso and all seemed right with the world.
Sure, all things seemed to be going in the Mets favor but anyone who was paying attention would quickly point to their weak starting pitching as the one thing that could derail this team. The Mets were relying on a staff without a true ace and with a ton of questions in the rotation. Those questions have now been exasperated with their recent spring injuries.
New York will likely be without Sean Manaea to start the season as he's dealing with a right oblique strain, and this could be an extended absence with some reports saying he could miss all of April.
The Mets have said that they will be "shutting down" Manaea for a couple of weeks with no clear timeline for when he's expected to make his season debut.
This follows the news earlier in the week that Frankie Montas will miss significant time due to a high-grade lat strain. The team has said he will be shut down for the next six-to-eight weeks and then will take another six weeks to get back into pitching shape. Montas will almost certainly miss all of April and possibly chunks of May.
That means that not only did the team with big hopes, lose $109 million dollars' worth of starting pitchers, but also dropped two vital parts of the rotation. When you include the fact that Clay Holmes is a pure experiment and now will be pushed up things look bleak for the Amazin's.
Holmes has been a reliever for the past few years and the Mets were hoping to convert him into a starter this season. Being at the back end of a rotation and hoping for something out of Holmes is one thing, but counting on him as your #3 starter is a bad look.
Add to that the fact their #1 starter Senga pitched all of 5 innings last season, Paul Blackburn threw for just 75 and fill in starter David Peterson tossed just 121 which leaves newly signed Griffin Canning as the staff leader in innings last season, and his innings came with a 5.19 ERA.
These injuries are not shocking to anyone who was paying attention, but it has sent shock waves for the Mets outlook on the new season ahead.