How the Mets stack up without Carlos Carrasco amid difficult August schedule
The Mets have been gripped by the injury virus in recent weeks, most recently with starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco.
Carrasco suffered a slight oblique strain on his start in Atlanta on Monday and will be out for three to four weeks. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. The injury weakens rotation amid arguably the toughest stretch of the season for the team as they face an NL East gauntlet (Braves, Phillies) before playing the Yankees, receiving a reprieve against the Rockies and then playing the Dodgers, to end the month.
It’s a brutal time without Carrasco, but at least Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are hitting the ground running. The middle of the rotation needs to be massaged by manager Buck Showalter.
Not that Showalter is a stranger to juggling his rotation. The Mets have also dealt with injuries to deGrom, Scherzer, Tylor Megill and Taijuan Walker this season. Still, they go into Tuesday’s game against Braves 75-41, first in a hyper-competitive division.
Who will replace Carlos Carrasco in the Mets rotation?
David Peterson will most likely step in for Carrasco in the near future. The team also needs a starter on Saturday for a game of a doubleheader against the Phillies. Peterson, who was opted into Triple-A Syracuse after deGrom’s activation, has a 3.30 ERA in 18 appearances (14 starts) for New York this season.
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Later, the Mets may have the idea of bringing Megill back into the rotation. Before a shoulder injury put him on the injured list, he had posted a 4.67 ERA in nine starts, although his FIP was more encouraging than Peterson’s.
Though the Mets like Megill out of the bullpen, they can certainly get him back on the rotation if Peterson fights his way out of goal. Megill had his first bullpen session since the injury at Citi Field on Sunday. It’s aiming for a return in late August or early September for right-handers.
Tylor Megill is hosting a bullpen session at Citi Field today: pic.twitter.com/EvGbmvaS7w
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 14, 2022
Trevor Williams is also expected to get point starts.
The projected rotation of Mets
| player | ERA 2022 |
| Jacob de Grom | 1.62 |
| Max Scherzer | 1.93 |
| Chris Bassitt | 3.27 |
| Taijuan Walker | 3.43 |
| David Petersen | 3.30 |
Who else is injured for the Mets?
The Mets are battling injuries at several other positions. Infielder Luis Guillorme (groin) is on the IL and is expected to return in the second week of September. Infielder Eduardo Escobar (side) is still active but limited. Catcher Tomas Nido (COVID) is out for a few days.
If there’s a silver lining to the Guillorme news, it’s that the Mets have reportedly called their No. 2-ranked contender, third baseman Brett Baty. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was among those covering Baty’s promotion from Triple-A Syracuse.
Baty struggled with .312/.406/.544 at Double-A Binghamton this year and then hit .364 in six games at Syracuse.
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A big question, of course, is what Baty’s arrival means for the Mets’ top pick, catcher Francisco Alvarez. The team remains conservative with him.
What’s the Mets’ upcoming schedule?
The Mets have an absolute bear of an upcoming schedule. Once off their NL East gauntlet on Sunday, they’ll travel across town to the Bronx for a Subway Series matchup against the Yankees. After a brief romp hosting the Rockies, they return to the grind by hosting the Dodgers.
Mets schedule
| date | Opponent |
| August 16th | at Braves |
| August 17th | at Braves |
| 18th of August | at Braves |
| August 19th | at Phillies |
| 20th of August | in Phillies (DH) |
| August 21st | at Phillies |
| August 22nd | at the Yankees |
| Aug. 23 | at the Yankees |
| August 25th | against Rockies |
| 26th of August | against Rockies |
| August 27th | against Rockies |
| August 28th | against Rockies |
| August 30th | against Dodgers |
| August 31st | against Dodgers |
| 1 Sept | against Dodgers |
With the NL East race shaping up to remain tight, this will be a crucial stretch for the Mets, who need immediate help from Baty to weather the storm.
At the start of Tuesday’s game, the Braves were 4.5 games behind the Mets and the hot Phillies were 10.5 games behind. More importantly, this is a test of the Mets’ abilities; You’ve struggled with injuries all year and bounced back.
September gets easier with runs against the Nationals, Pirates, Marlins, Cubs and Pirates again before the Brewers and the month ends against the Athletics and Marlins. In other words, they have a chance to blast the race all over the track.
In the meantime, however, they are enduring a difficult schedule with a string of injuries. With Carrasco lacking time, Showalter will pad his NL Manager of the Year résumé if he can successfully complete that stretch.