3 biggest injury concerns for the Mets heading into the 2022 season

The New York Mets are coming off of a season where they expected to be competitive, but finished with a record of 77-85. The Mets were in first place for over 100 consecutive days but ended up falling apart in the second half. The Mets lineup underperformed drastically and the rotation fell apart in the second half. The biggest reason the Mets fell apart was due to injuries.

The Mets had a team capable of making the playoffs if healthy. Jacob deGrom is the best pitcher in baseball. He only made 15 starts, all of them in the first half. The Mets traded for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. Both of them missed substantial time due to injury. Arguably their best hitter was Brandon Nimmo. He only played in 92 games.

Injuries are something that every team goes through but the Mets seem to be very unlucky with them. If they have any hopes of contending this season they will need players to stay healthy, but there are three very important players in particular I am very concerned about in regards to staying on the field.

3. Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer

This one might be a little surprising, but the splash of the offseason comes with injury concerns. In his 14 year Hall of Fame caliber career, Scherzer has been remarkably healthy. He had ten straight seasons of at least 30 starts from 2009-2018. He's been a workhorse for the longest time and has barely missed time due to injury.

With that being said, Scherzer is 37 years old and just made 30 regular-season starts, pitching 179.1 innings for the Nationals and Dodgers plus another 16.2 innings in the postseason. During the postseason Scherzer had a dead arm issue which made him unavailable for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Braves. It also caused him to leave Game 2 early in a situation where Scherzer would surely fight to stay in the game if he was feeling 100%.

Scherzer attributes that dead arm issue to his limited workload down the stretch and then immediately going on short rest in the postseason. While that makes me feel better, there's still some cause of concern.

Scherzer is 37 years old coming off a heavy workload with no major injury history. He will be asked to pitch another 200 innings or so this season, and with 2,536.2 career innings under his belt it's not out of the question that he might run out of gas at some point or have something worse happen.

I hope it doesn't happen and don't necessarily expect it to as he's been durable in his career but there is plenty to be concerned about for the newest Met.

2. Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo

This comes as no surprise, but there is plenty to be concerned about when it comes to Brandon Nimmo and injuries. The 28 year old has a lengthy injury history and is vital to the success of this team. He is expected to hit at the top of the lineup and get on base in front of the big bats in the lineup.

One of the biggest moves the Mets have made this offseason so far was signing Starling Marte to a four-year $78 million dollar deal. Marte is expected to play center field every day which could take a lot of pressure off of Nimmo. This past season Nimmo was the full-time center fielder so he was out there running a lot more than he would be if he was a corner outfielder. This season Nimmo will be a corner outfielder which might benefit his health and help him play better defense too.

Even with that being said, Nimmo has not proven at all that he can stay on the field. He's proven he can hit, he can run, he's improved defensively, he can get on base at an elite clip. Health is the one thing he has not proven. His career high in games came back in 2017 with 140. The 92 games he played this season were his second highest.

If Brandon Nimmo plays in 92 games or fewer this season the Mets will be in trouble. While the lineup is improved, it's not good enough yet in my opinion to be a contender, especially if Nimmo misses substantial time. The reason the Mets have not extended him I assume is due to his injury history and the risk of that contract blowing up in their faces.