3 Mets who will be called up by the All-Star break and who they will replace

3) Third New York Mets player who will be called up by the All-Star break - Joey Lucchesi

Joey Lucchesi is a 29 year old left handed starting pitcher who was obtained in a trade before the 2021 season. He appeared in only 11 games for the Mets before arm problems caused him to have Tommy John surgery. Lucchesi missed the remainder of the 2021 season and all of 2022 as well rehabbing from his surgery. He was invited to spring training where he made two appearances in relief. Lucchesi was then sent to AAA Syracuse to begin stretching out his arm until he's ready to rejoin the Mets. Joey Lucchesi was in the Mets rotation before his injury. Now that he's healthy again, there's no reason not to believe that he can return to his previous form.

The New York Mets player that he will replace - The next injured starting pitcher.

Before this season even began, the Mets had to put Justin Verlander on the injured list and called up Tylor Megill. As sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, at least one additional Met starting pitcher will complain about stiffness in his arm, a pain in his elbow, or needing something like thoracic outlet surgery. It's only a matter of time. This is one of the dangers of having a 38 year old and a 40 year old at the top of your rotation. The Mets always have their fair share of injuries. They designated a player for the injury list 33 time last season. It seems like every player on the team is "Day to day" at one time or another. There's a chance that the Mets could go with a six man rotation later in the season to help give a little extra rest to their starting pitchers. When it comes to the Mets, you never say never.

Major and Minor observations

As stated earlier, the Mets designated a player for the Injured List a total of 33 times last season. For each one of those moves, there was a corresponding move to replace that player on the major league roster, almost always from the team’s minor leagues.

Sometimes the major league team might have a prospect start out in the minors only to bring him up a little later so that the number of years of his major league experience will end in .9 and thus extending his arbitration eligibility by one more year. 

Remember, potential is not performance. For every player like David Wright, Tom Seaver, or Darryl Strawberry who has come through New York there have been dozens of other players like Billy Beane, Lastings Milledge, or Francisco Martinez.

John W. Lindsey holds the record of playing 16 seasons of minor league baseball. That is dedication.