3 Mets roster questions we still have ahead of the postseason

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.

2) NY Mets roster question: Which starters move to the bullpen?

Along with carrying either Carrasco or Walker in the bullpen, the Mets have a few other guys capable of going multiple innings they could have available in relief. Trevor Williams is obvious. Not so clear is David Peterson or Tylor Megill.

Both of these starters have a lot to prove before the postseason begins if they want to be a member of the playoff roster. The fact that Peterson throws left-handed definitely helps his case. Megill, yet another righty, will have nothing but performance to convince the Mets he’s a guy to add to their roster.

Time is running out for them to give Joey Lucchesi opportunities to pitch and prove himself in the big leagues so we may want to completely dismiss that possibility.

Something the Mets need to weigh in this decision is to give themselves some variety. They have tons of right-handed relievers already. Joely Rodriguez is their lone true lefty which probably does make Peterson the preferred choice.

The Mets have several different directions they can go. We shouldn’t be surprised to see them make major changes from series to series depending on performance and who the opponent is. The big challenge is not making too big of a mistake early on. You don’t want to choose the wrong starter and find yourself eliminated.