NY Mets: 3 things that need to happen to make the playoffs

Carlos Carrasco needs to find a way to turn into a reliable starter for the Mets

The Mets pitching staff this season has been, for the most part, really good. It hasn’t been perfect by any means, but with all the injuries the Mets have had, the fact the staff still has a top-10 ERA is incredibly impressive.

One of those injuries, for most of the season, was to Carrasco. He was sidelined for months, finally making his Mets debut on July 30. In his first four starts, Carrasco didn’t go more than 4.1 innings in a game and had an ERA over 10.

Much like Lindor, the Mets need Carrasco to be the player he was in Cleveland. With deGrom likely done for the season and Syndergaard unlikely to provide any help to the rotation if he even plays at all, someone needs to step up and fill the void in the rotation.

Marcus Stroman has been nothing short of fantastic, becoming the ace of the staff in deGrom’s absence. Taijuan Walker, while he has had his struggles since the break, is still having a very respectable season. Tylor Megill has come seemingly out of nowhere to be one of the most reliable starters the Mets have used. Even Rich Hill, while not good, has been a fine fifth starter.

Carrasco needs to step it up and become a reliable middle-of-the-rotation piece for the Mets. Yes, he hasn’t hit the 100 innings threshold since 2018, but at this point, the Mets don’t need him to do that. There’s a little over a month left of the season, all he needs to do is string together a handful of good starts.

Carrasco putting in five-to-six good innings every five days gives the rotation some much-needed length, putting the Mets in a better position to win both that individual game and future ones by saving the bullpen from being overworked.

The Mets don’t have a better option than running Cookie out there every trip around the rotation, and with likely no reinforcements coming, he needs to figure it out.