Michael Dixon
Loser: New York Mets
When healthy, the Mets’ starting rotation is as formidable as any in the league. It just doesn’t get more formidable than Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and then two of Steven Matz, Seth Lugo and Zack Wheeler.
But for two years in a row, that rotation has been a MASH unit. Every one of those pitchers is either currently on the disabled list, or has been on it as recently as the end of last season.
Says a longtime MLB front office person, regarding the Mets' pitching injuries: "I have never seen anything like this for two years."
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) May 1, 2017
Joining Syndergaard, Matz, and Lugo on the disabled list are Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda, Wilmer Flores, Brandon Nimmo and David Wright.
The good news for New York is that the aforementioned Nationals are the only National League East team with a winning record. The bad news is that the Mets are still in last place and a full 6.5 games behind the Nats.
There’s a lot of baseball to be played, but that’s a lot of ground to overcome — especially for a team with so many injuries.
New York may not be sad to see April in the rear-view mirror. But if some of these players don’t return to the field fast, May-September isn’t projecting to be much better.
