NY Mets Rotation: What could the starting five look like in 2021?

Even though the 2020 New York Mets season is still in its infancy, it is never too early to look ahead at some burning questions for the 2021 season.

One big question for the 2021 New York Mets is who will be starting games for them in 2021.

The 2020 rotation hasn’t been great so far this season albeit missing some key pieces but the 2020 rotation should be used as a lesson for the 2021 Mets. If you do not invest in quality arms and depth the rotation can fall apart quickly.

It is imperative that the Mets take note and this winter tries to beef up the pitching staff because the offense seems to be becoming a strength, at least on paper, that it would be a real shame if the rotation held the team back.

The first question that has to be asked is how many spots have to be filled. With the next question being what internal depth is there and how much has to be supplemented from outside the organization via free agency or trade

Some rotation spots are obvious, however, there are some that are contingent on other things like contract situations, injury rehabs, and how 2020 plays out for certain players.

The Mets, however, need to think past the five guys that roll out there every day and start a game. It is imperative that they amass quality depth. The team can look to 2020 as a perfect example. They started with six or seven starters for five spots back in March but by the time the season started the Mets were unsure how to fill out five spots every day.

No one knows what the future holds but you can never have too much pitching especially when you are the New York Mets.

Noah Syndergaard

The big question is will Noah Syndergaard be healthy and ready for Opening Day after recovering from Tommy John surgery?

If he is healthy he is undoubtedly the second-best pitcher in the Mets rotation. However, Syndergaard did have Tommy John back in March so Opening Day would be just about twelve months which is a little aggressive these days for a pitcher.

However, this is the God of Thunder and he is vying for a contract post-2021 either from the Mets or from another team so he will be as motivated as ever to not only be ready for Opening Day but put together a very good final season before he enters free agency.

If he does indeed make Opening Day then he should slide into the second spot in the rotation right behind Jacob deGrom.

Marcus Stroman

Now comes the question about Stroman and his contract. He will be a free agent after the 2020 season and re-signing him should be priority number one for this Mets front office. He is an above-average pitcher and brings an energy that is very reminiscent of Jose Reyes.

Even with his 2020 injury and decision to opt-out, the team should still look to re-sign him to a new contract to give them a formidable four in the rotation for 2021 and possibly even beyond that.

The Mets invested a lot into Stroman when they acquired him from the Tronto Blue Jays for Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson, two top pitching prospects at the time.

Signing Stroman long term would make the package they gave up more palatable and it would also give them a dependable arm to follow deGrom and Syndergaard

David Peterson

If he is not re-signed and goes elsewhere in free agency, then the rotation outlook gets a little bleaker and the questions around David Peterson loom even larger.

So far in this 2020 season, Peterson has looked great. He has made two starts totaling 11.2 innings and he has pitched to an ERA of 3.86. His fastball has been in the mid-90s and he looks like a solid middle of the rotation pitcher for this team going forward.

If the rest of 2020 for him goes like his first two starts he should slide into a rotation spot in 2021, which one, however, depends on Syndergaard and Stroman. If Stroman is re-signed, then Peterson would be the fifth starter and the Mets would have a really good top five.

If Stroman is not re-signed, then Peterson would fill the fourth spot and the Mets would need to go out and find a fifth starter.

After trading away nearly every upper-level starting pitcher over the last year plus Brodie Van Wagenen has not left himself many organizational options to fill spots in the rotation. This means that the Mets would have to look outside the organization for pitchers.

Michael Wacha

If the Mets have to go and look on the open market for starters there are some decent options for either the fifth spot or as depth pieces because you can never have too much pitching.

Depending on how the 2020 season goes there could be a case made for re-signing Michael Wacha as either the fifth spot or a depth piece. At the time of this writing, he has had one good start and one not so good start for the team this season, but he has a decent track record and may-be in the Mets price range.

Taijuan Walker

Another option could be 27-year-old Taijuan Walker. He has not had the most impressive career, but the former top-five prospect pitched better once he got to Arizona in 2017 pitching to a 3.47 ERA over 171.1 innings. He has had some injuries the last couple years, but he is still young and a minor league deal for Walker as a depth arm limits the risk and offers some upside.

Ultimately, this article would not be complete if Matt Harvey and Bartolo Colon were not mentioned as minor league deal rotation options for the Mets in 2021.

In the end, the Mets have some big questions that need to be answered over the next six months or so and those answers will dictate how good the Mets rotation will be in 2021.

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If things break right for them the team could have a particularly good starting staff but if this break the other way it may be a very long 2021 season.