The Mets are close to acquiring Rich Hill from the Tampa Bay Rays, and his arrival would come at the perfect time with New York in dire need of starting pitching help.
Hill — a free agent after the season — has struggled a bit recently, but is in the midst of a strong season and would bring some stability to the rotation.
Here are the ripple effects of the move now and down the line…
An immediate stabilizing force
On Friday morning, the Mets’ starting pitching situation was untenable.
They had just three healthy starters (Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker, and Tylor Megill), and were in need of starting pitchers for their game on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays and both games of their doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves on Monday — though Stroman should be able to make one of those starts.
And with the addition of HIll, a worry has been erased.
It might also make sense for the Mets to now give Carlos Carrasco one more rehab start to stretch out a bit more instead of having him pitch on Sunday or Monday.
Either way, Carrasco should be back soon, and his return will result in the Mets having five starters — with Jacob deGrom perhaps not far behind.
Are the Mets done adding rotation pieces?
You can never have enough starting pitching — as the Mets have seen this season — so adding more rotation help before the July 30 non-waiver trade deadline should still be the plan.
And now that they’ve added a back of the rotation starter without giving up any notable prospects, they have kept themselves in good position to strike another deal.
With the acquisition of Hill, the Mets have also given themselves some leverage in trade talks, with other teams in possession of high-impact arms now no longer able to bend them over a barrel knowing how desperate they were.
If the Mets make another trade for a starting pitcher, it can be argued that their top target should be Jose Berrios of the Minnesota Twins, whose upside is tantalizing. Jon Gray of the Colorado Rockies is among the other pitchers who could make sense for New York.
What happens later this season?
In a perfect world, the Mets’ rotation situation could look like this around Sept. 1:
Jacob deGrom
Noah Syndergaard
Carlos Carrasco
Marcus Stroman
Taijuan Walker
Rich Hill
David Peterson
Tylor Megill
The above would be an embarrassment of riches — and that’s without the Mets adding another starting pitcher via trade, which is very possible.
But four of the above pitchers are currently dealing with injuries, so it’s not guaranteed they will all return and be effective.
But if that does happen, the Mets will have the option of moving Hill to the bullpen, where he could be a great weapon as a second lefty reliever to pair with Aaron Loup.
In a season where every starting pitcher is dealing with an increased workload coming off the shortened 60-game campaign, having a ton of arms is incredibly important. And the Mets are on their way to getting there.