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3 Mets players who need to step up in Jose Quintana's absence

By Zachary Rotman |
Feb 28, 2023; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets manager Buck Showalter (11) replaces New
Feb 28, 2023; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets manager Buck Showalter (11) replaces New / Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Mets were dealt a big blow, as Jose Quintana is set to miss what looks to be at least the first half of the season with a rib injury. Quintana was one of the Mets big free agent acquisitions, and he's now going to be out for a substantial period of time.

Quintana was supposed to be the fourth starter for this Mets team. He was coming off an outstanding season pitching for the Pirates and Cardinals, and now the Mets are going to have to prepare for life without him.

With Quintana out, the Mets will need three pitchers, in particular, to step up. They already needed Verlander and Scherzer to be co-aces, but they need more from other pitchers who will have more prominent roles.

1) NY Mets SP Carlos Carrasco must be a consistent starter

Carlos Carrasco has had his ups and downs in his tenure with the Mets. Things couldn't have gotten off to a worse start for Carrasco as a Met as he tore his hamstring and ended up missing most of the 2021 season. He came back in the end of July and looked like a shell of himself, posting an ERA over 6.00 and allowing runs in seemingly every first inning.

Carrasco settled in nicely last season, giving the Mets 29 starts and a 3.97 ERA. This solid performance and good health got the Mets to exercise his club option for $14 million. Carrasco was slated to be the fifth starter before the Quintana injury, but he now has increased responsibility.

With Quintana out and Kodai Senga dealing with his own health issues, Carrasco could suddenly be the number three starter on this team. That means the Mets will need more of the good than the bad from the veteran.

Carrasco's tenure has been inconsistent. He'd have a good month followed by a bad one. For example, Carrasco pitched to a 3.60 ERA in five May starts last season. They'll certainly take that. He then pitched to a 6.37 ERA in six June starts. This was followed by a 0.90 ERA in five July starts.

Carrasco seems to have a great start followed by a bad one. He's had a rough start to his spring allowing five runs and four home runs in nine innings of work. The Mets need him to be closer to the guy he was in Cleveland for them to keep pace with the others beasts of the NL East.

2) NY Mets SP David Peterson is the next man up

David Peterson would be my guess as the next man up in the Mets rotation. He'll replace Quintana and should be a consistent figure in the rotation at least until he gets back.

Peterson was up and down between Syracuse and the Mets last season and made some appearances as a starter and a reliever. He was used in just about any role imaginable and did as good of a job as the Mets could've hoped.

The southpaw pitched to a 3.83 ERA in 28 appearances (19 starts) and was more than adequate at the back of the Mets rotation.

The Mets really need Peterson to repeat the season he just had. He gave the Mets a 3.86 ERA as a starter and allowed four earned runs or fewer in all but three of his starts. The 3.86 ERA was higher than it should've been, as he had one awful start in which he allowed five runs while recording just one out. For the most part, he was phenomenal.

Peterson kept the Mets in games and gave them a chance to win which is really all you can ask for out of a fifth starter. The Mets need that from him again, he has to step up.

3) NY Mets SP Tylor Megill has to stay healthy and productive

Tylor Megill is a player Mets fans are in love with but has been very inconsistent in his short time with the club. He started on Opening Day last season and gave the Mets five memorable scoreless innings. He was the best starting pitcher on the staff in April as he posted a 1.93 ERA.

Two starts into the month of May he allowed eight runs while recording just four outs in Washington and then he missed a month due to injury. Megill came back in June, made two starts, and then was on the shelf again until September.

Megill came back and was fine as a reliever. Overall I thought he looked great in the first month of the season, but wore down and dealt with a couple of injuries that derailed his season. The 5.13 ERA was not indicitive at all of how he pitched for a large majority of the games he played in.

Megill is battling with Peterson for the fifth starter spot right now, but my guess is he either ends up in the bullpen or more likely is sent to Syracuse as a starter and will be up in case of an emergency.

I don't want to be pecimistic, but the Mets have two pitchers at the end of their careers in Scherzer and Verlander. I'd be shocked if either of them made 30+ starts. They have Kodai Senga who has two seasons with over 150 innings pitched in Japan. The most recent one was in 2019. He's already dealing with a finger issue this spring. The likelihood he makes every start is low, and the Mets were already considering a six-man rotation.

The Mets have injury questions up and down the rotation, Megill is going to make a ton of starts for this team. The Mets need him to be available to take the ball when needed, and give them quality outings when called upon. We've seen him do it in spurts, they might need him for more than that in 2023.

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