A year ago, the Mets were headed toward an ugly end of the season, with a manager and general manager about to be dismissed and an offseason of uncertainty approaching.
But when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, they were at least able to bring up Jenrry Mejia, who had been shifted back to being a starter and figured to make about five starts to give the Mets a peek at what looked like a promising future.
Because the Mets weren’t playing for a postseason spot, they could at least start grooming a potential ace. But don’t expect any names like Mejia’s to be coming to Queens when rosters expand tomorrow.
“The guys we thought we’d be calling up now are here,” manager Terry Collins said before the Mets’ 6-0 loss last night to the Marlins at Citi Field. “And a lot of them have been here a long time. I’ve never had a year where we’ve needed so many of them so early.”
Under other circumstances, players such as Ruben Tejada and Lucas Duda could have stayed at Buffalo most of the season before being summoned to the Mets.
Instead, because of injuries, both have spent a significant portion of the season in the majors, which Collins doesn’t believe is a bad thing.
“Normally, you try to make judgments with the guys you call up for next year,” Collins said. “But guys like Nick Evans, Jason Pridie, Tejada and Duda have had a ton of at-bats, and that gives us a better idea of what they are going forward.”
So the new faces could include — in addition to 40-year-old Miguel Batista, who was called up last week when Scott Hairston got hurt and will start tonight — journeyman Pat Misch, as well as Josh Stinson, a righty who has been inconsistent this season out of the pen. Righty Chris Schwinden has been solid at Buffalo and also may get a look.
“Normally, with the kind of year we’ve had, you’d have to decide how much playing time the new guys would get,” Collins said. “But we’re still looking at guys like Justin Turner and Tejada, so we can’t just have other guys play.
“If we were breaking the whole thing up next year, it would be a different story. Then, you just throw the call-ups out there, but that’s not the case. And players like Willie Harris and Scott Hairston, who do thankless jobs and do them well, deserve to play.”
Still, Collins said he hopes the new blood that does show up provides a lift.
“It’s going to be an exciting time for whoever comes up and other players can still feed off that,” Collins said.
Two of the team’s top pitching prospects, Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler, aren’t ready to make the leap, and outfielder Fernando Martinez is hurt again and hasn’t been able to prove himself when he’s had the chance.
Of course, just because a possible star does get a call-up doesn’t mean it will turn out well.
The excitement surrounding Mejia faded quickly since his September stint with the Mets didn’t last long.
The 20-year-old left his final start with the team after just 2 1/3 scoreless innings because of a shoulder strain. He didn’t pitch again the rest of the year. Then, with Triple-A Buffalo in April of this year, Mejia left a start with elbow discomfort and he ended up undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery.
They at least don’t have to worry about that happening again.