5 Mets players who will be the biggest X-factors in determining where this team goes

3) Luis Severino

There are a couple of pitchers worth considering for this spot. Ones who didn’t make the cut include Christian Scott, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, and maybe anyone else we’ve seen regularly this year. 

Scott will have his innings limited in some capacity. Manaea and Quintana shouldn’t be expected to do much more than they already have. In the “everyone else” category, they’re either still on the list or just not as essential in the realm of X-factor.

Luis Severino is different. As a trade candidate (please, no!) and the best pitcher they’ve had in the rotation this season, his performance down the stretch will help determine what the Mets can or cannot accomplish. He has the greatest upside of any of the starting pitchers we’ve seen so far. Not limited in any capacity, pitching like an ace will give the Mets rotation a needed boost.

Severino isn’t having the greatest season and has pitched to contact a little too much to be considered a true ace. Nevertheless, his ability to go deeper into games than the other Mets starters on top of his experience helps turn him into one of the most important players on the roster.

In a trade, we’d have to expect the Mets to get the most back for him. But let’s stay away from that bridge. Trading Severino doesn’t make enough sense for a team legitimately trying to compete unless they get a sneakily good return back for him. I’m not holding my breath that this comes to fruition.