Mets news: Montero likely to return to Triple-A after spot start

By Danny Abriano
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Rafael Montero will likely not remain in the starting rotation after his scheduled spot start on Tuesday, Terry Collins said.

Montero was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas in order to give the other starters an extra day of rest during a long stretch without an off-day.

After opening the season in the big league bullpen, Montero was demoted to Las Vegas a few weeks ago to stretch out his arm.

According to Collins, Dillon Gee – whose spot in the starting rotation is reportedly in jeopardy – will remain in the rotation unless something drastic happens, adding that the Mets are “not looking to make any changes.”

In three starts this season, Gee has posted a 5.60 ERA (4.41 FIP) and 1.36 WHIP in 17.2 innings pitched.

Thoughts:

Part of Terry Collins’ job is to protect the players currently on the roster, which puts his “we’re not looking to make any changes” comment in proper context. But it’s clear that the Mets are trying to move on from Dillon Gee.

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The Mets tried all winter to deal Gee, tried again during Spring Training, and were prepared to have him in the bullpen until Zack Wheeler got hurt and required season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Bartolo Colon are all rightfully entrenched in the starting rotation at this point and Jon Niese is under contract through 2016. Then there’s Gee, who is almost certainly moving on either during the season or after it, when he’ll again be arbitration eligible.

Aside from the fact that Gee simply isn’t very good is the fact that the Mets have options such as Montero and top prospects Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz just about ready to step in.

For the Mets, this should be about who gives them the best chance to win every fifth day. If they don’t think Dillon Gee is the answer to that question, they need to move on.

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