3 Mets roster questions we still have ahead of the postseason

New York Mets v Washington Nationals
New York Mets v Washington Nationals / Mitchell Layton/GettyImages
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Every team goes through it at this point of the year. The New York Mets roster is going to shrink by two when the playoffs begin. Who does and doesn’t join them for the postseason run remains a big question.

Postseason baseball is played slightly differently with fewer starting pitchers needed, more openness to role players like Terrance Gore, and a quick hook for anyone slumping.

With only a handful of games left on the schedule, the Mets will have only a little more time to answer these three remaining roster questions they and everyone else is dealing with.

1) NY Mets roster question: Who will be the fourth starter?

Only four starting pitchers are needed in the postseason because of the way the schedule is. There are more frequent days off, fewer played in a row, and no need to rotate through five arms. We’ve seen it happen before. Nothing is different this year once the Division Series begins.

We’re all in agreement that the Mets will have Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer in their rotation. Chris Bassitt is an easy choice for number three barring some kind of a major change. This leaves them with Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker to choose from.

Both Carrasco and Walker have been good at times and not so much at other points this season. Carrasco has the playoff experience and would probably translate worse as a reliever than Walker. It’s probably one of the toughest decisions of all for Buck Showalter and the front office to make. Neither pitcher has all that much of a greater advantage. Perhaps the best plan is to have them both ready to go with the other prepared to piggyback early the moment the starter gets in an early jam.