Why NY Mets can have Brandon Sproat on their playoff roster

After weeks of begging, New York Mets fans are finally getting what they want as Brandon Sporat is set to make his major league debut on Sunday. Sporat is the fifth-best prospect in the Mets system according to MLB Pipeline, and has had a better season than most of the big league starters. In 25 starts, he has an ERA of 4.24 through 121 innings with 113 strikeouts, 53 walks, and a WHIP of 1.24. The hope is that he, along with the other young pitchers the Mets have called up, can give the Mets quality starts during the pennant chase.

However, while fans are excited to see Sproat, there are concerns that he won't be playoff eligible. MLB rules say that a player must be on the 40-man roster by September 1st to be considered playoff eligible. But that might be the case as a quirk in the rules could allow Sproat to pitch in October. So what is the quirk, and has it been used before?

Yes, Brandon Sproat is elgibile for the Mets playoff roster

As mentioned before, as long as a player is on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list before September 1st, they can appear on a team's playoff roster. Sporat does not fit this critieria as he'll be added to the 40-man at some point this weekend. However, since Sporat has been in the organization all season, if the Mets petition the Commissioner's Office, he could be granted permission to play with the Mets if they make it to the postseason.

This is something the Mets are very familiar with. They used this loophole last season to secure Max Kranick's spot on the playoff roster. The Mets did not want to put Tylor Megill on their Wild Card roster because he wouldn't be ready to pitch. So rather than putting him on the roster, they petition the Commissioner's Office to allow them to add Kranick to the roster, despite him not pitching in the majors. Since Kranick was added during the offseason, the Commissioner gave his blessing, and Kranick was added.

With this quirk, the Mets can start to configure their playoff rotation during September. It's no secret that the veteran starting pitchers on this roster can't be trusted to start a playoff game. None of them can go deep into games or can put the Mets in a position to win. While starting pitchers don't go as deep in the postseason, you can't expect to win if your starters only go three or four innings and give up five to six runs.

So, you pair the young trio of Sproat, Nolan McLean, and Jonah Tong with the only veteran pitching well for the Mets, David Peterson, and there's your rotation. While there is a lot of inexperience, it's the best group of arms the Mets have had in their starting staff all season. These guys could be the solution in the rotation, not just for this season, but for years to come.