What the Mets rotation should look like when Justin Verlander returns

With the New York Mets starting pitching rotation being so decimated to begin the season, it is a major sign of relief that Justin Verlander is days away from making his most anticipated Mets debut. On Friday, Verlander had a strong rehab start for the Mets double-a team, the Rumble Ponies pitching four scoreless and striking out six batters along the way.

With the Mets hoping he will make his first of the season around May 3, there will definitely be some shake ups in the Mets starting pitching rotation. For example, what will the future of David Peterson's role be with the team since he has been pretty awful in his first six starts pitching to a 7.34 ERA? Also what about other fill-in starters like Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi? Lucchesi especially has been a welcoming surprise for the Mets after nearly two years on the bench. What will this Mets rotation look like once the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner returns?

What the Mets rotation will look once Justin Verlander is back

There will be some changes with this Mets rotation for sure and as long as Lucchesi builds on his previous couple of starts and Scherzer comes back from his suspension and others like Megill and Senga continue to improve, I think we will see David Peterson pitch out of the bullpen. It makes the most sense. Peterson lacks consistency and whenever he pitches deep into games, his command is not as strong as it was early on in starts. So the bullpen to me seems most likely.

When Petertson pitched out of the bullpen last year. He had much better results when he was called upon to pitch an inning or two. Despite pitching to a 3.86 ERA in a career high 19 starts last season, he still was inconsistent giving up 39 runs in 91 innings.

So it makes the most sense just for the time being you demote Peterson once Verlander is back. If Lucchesi remains sharp and Megill continues to improve, the Mets rotation at full strength should be Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi.