The New York Mets got pounded by the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. As usual, Jason Vargas played a part in this blowout, but he’s not in danger of losing his spot in the rotation.
Ultimately, the fate of the New York Mets‘ season is in the hands of their starting rotation. While Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom are doing their best to carry the load, the back end of the rotation needs to show some sort of life.
Manager Mickey Callaway basically said that last week, but Jason Vargas wasn’t able to use that motivation properly.
The Mets lost to the Brewers by a score of 17-6 on Saturday afternoon. Vargas was one of the main contributors to helping Milwaukee hitters pad their stats — he allowed five runs on six hits (one home run), two walks, and five strikeouts in just three innings.
Believe it or not, this poor performance was actually bad enough to raise his ERA to 10.62.
There was hope the veteran hurler would use his last outing as a way to build momentum (five shutout innings against the Miami Marlins). It looks like New York is back at square one, though.
In a perfect world, these extreme struggles would put Vargas’ rotation spot in jeopardy, but not at the moment. The reason why shouldn’t make the southpaw feel all warm and fuzzy inside, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:
Jason Vargas' rotation spot is not in jeopardy, Mickey Callaway says. When asked why not, Callaway replied that the Mets can't even find someone to pitch Game 2 Monday. They don't exactly have a preponderance of options right now.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 27, 2018
For a team that’s supposed to be built upon top-tier starting pitching, that’s a little disheartening.
Chris Flexen was a potential option for the second game of their Monday doubleheader in Atlanta, but he had to throw two innings in Saturday’s loss, taking him out of the running. This could be a way for P.J. Conlon to get the call again, as he’s scheduled to pitch Monday for the Las Vegas 51s in Triple-A.
If Vargas continues to struggle as a starter, the Mets will eventually be forced to do something about it, depth or no depth. It could be a way for either Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo to escape bullpen duty if they continue excelling with each outing.
