Mets may finally have a Syndergaard, deGrom, Harvey, Matz, Wheeler rotation

For years, Mets fans dreamed about a potential rotation with the five young guns that had just come up in the system.

And to start 2018, we might be getting just that. With lefty Jason Vargas going down with a hand injury and likely missing at least the first turn of the rotation in the regular season, there’s a chance the Mets get to trot out what some have called the “five aces.”

A turn in the Mets rotation made up of Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler has never happened. Not in any order. Any time the guys have been up in the majors, at least one of them has been injured.

In 2015, when the Mets had the best chance of this rotation order working with four of these pieces rolling, Wheeler was sidelined after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

His recovery carried into 2016, and in 2017, it was Harvey, Matz, and Syndergaard’s turns to miss some time.

This spring though, everyone is still surprisingly healthy and looking better than in years past.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson doesn’t really care about this small fact and has been focused solely on winning, regardless of who’s out there.

And that’s fair. Alderson can’t be getting caught up in any type of nostalgia or longing for something symbolic like this. It won’t matter how nice it is to see the five take the mound in consecutive games if the Mets don’t end up winning most of them.

If these guys are sharp though, they will give them a good chance to win those five starts. We know what Syndergaard and deGrom can give you on a regular basis. So the big questions will obviously be the other three.

Harvey has struggled at times, but has genuinely looked better than I expected. If he can find the control he needs to locate his fastball and change-up, we may see him really turn the corner.

For Matz and Wheeler, health will always be their number one concern. When both of them are feeling right, the talent ends up showing. Matz looked really good in his latest outing against the Astros, so hopefully that’s also a sign of things to come.

Next: Jason Vargas has fractured right hand

We’re more than likely going to get our chance to see the “five aces” take the mound to start the season this year. It’s been a long time coming, and it’ll be less spectacular than we had hoped, but it’s still just the beginning of what can happen this season.