New York Mets Sign Trevor Cahill, How They Could Address Pitching After Losing Max Scherzer
There's no replacing Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom - but the New York Mets must figure out how to patch up their injury riddled pitching staff while their top two aces reside on the injured list.
The Mets suffered the latest blow to their rotation on Thursday after Scherzer's MRI revealed a high grade oblique strain that will sideline him for six to eight weeks. This is a huge loss for a Mets rotation that's now down three out of their top six starters in Scherzer, deGrom and Tylor Megill.
So how will they address their pitching depth?
Prior to Scherzer's injury, the Mets signed veteran starter Trevor Cahill over the weekend, as a source confirmed to Inside the Mets. However, the 34-year-old righty is in the early stages of being stretched out. He is expected to report to extended spring training in Port St. Lucie. The New York Post was the first to report on this signing.
Joey Lucchesi (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and Jordan Yamamoto are not close to helping the Mets at the big-league level. But lefty David Peterson is likely to fill one of the holes in the rotation, and Trevor Williams could replace Scherzer moving forward.
Thomas Szapucki and Felix Peña are possibilities if the Mets opt to keep Williams in the bullpen as a long reliever.
The Mets appear destined to address the injuries to their pitching staff by dipping into their internal depth. Should deGrom, Scherzer or Megill suffer a setback in their recovery, that's when general manager Billy Eppler might explore seriously upgrading this unit on the trade market.
The good news is that Megill is tentatively scheduled to begin playing catch on Friday, per MLB.com. The Mets have not set a timeline on Megill, but the righty could presumably return to the rotation by late-May/early-June if all goes well.
Read More:
- Pete Alonso Crushes Monster Walk-Off Home Run To Lift Mets To Series Win
- Mets Lose Ace Max Scherzer for 6 to 8 Weeks With Oblique Strain
- Buck Showalter on Slumping Francisco Lindor: ‘He’ll Figure it out’
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