2 NY Mets players other than Jose Urena who could start this weekend, 1 who shouldn't

The New York Mets rotation has been the biggest surprise and strength of the 2025 season. However, the Mets have reached the first obstacle in their success, playing 13 games in 13 days. With them wanting to give their starters five days of rest in between starts, they'll need to add another starter to make it a six-man rotation.

As of right now Jose Urena is the favorite to make that start. However he only made one start and only lasted 3.1 innings. That's not a confidence boost in terms of what he could offer. Here are two pitchers that are better options and one that shouldn't start.

Brandon Waddell is a practical choice for an opportunity in the Mets rotation

Brandon Waddell has been Syracuse's best starting pitcher this season. In three starts, he's pitched to a 1.35 ERA over 13.1 innings, with 13 strikeouts to four walks, a 1.20 WHIP, and a FIP of 2.45. He also fits perfectly into what the Mets want to do. He has gone at least four innings in each of the three starts he's made. That's exactly the amount of innings the Mets will need him to cover before they go to a guy like Huascar Brazoban or one of their other long relievers.

Waddell also has experience against major league hitters. Between 2020 and 2021, he made 11 appearances, out of the bullpen, pitching to a 5.68 ERA over 12.2 innings with nine strikeouts to 11 walks, a 2.132 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 83. While these numbers don't look good and he hasn't started a major league game, with the amount of work he has done in the past three years, he deserves a chance to prove himself.

The only issue is that Waddell is not on the 40-man roster, meaning the Mets will have to DFA someone to bring him up. They can either take a major leaguer who is underperforming, like Danny Young off, or one of the minor leagues on it, like Kevin Herget. This is something David Stearns and company will have to figure out.