PORT ST. LUCIE — It’s telling of how precipitously the Mets beginning rotation plummeted last yr that if the team reached the postseason, three rookies with a mixed 17 main league appearances would have been scheduled to begin in the wild-card spherical.
Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong were these pitchers.
The Mets dropped their season finale in Miami, rendering the level moot after shedding a tiebreaker to the Reds in the race for the NL’s third and closing wild card.
It left president of baseball operations David Stearns to also focus on the rotation as he was overhauling the lineup this winter.
Mission may have been completed with the January commerce that introduced Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers from the Brewers for Sproat and Jett Williams.
In Peralta, the Mets seem to lastly have the true ace they lacked as their season was spiraling last August and September.
Peralta, 29, pitched to a 2.70 ERA in 33 begins for the Brewers last season, in which he logged 176 ²/₃ innings.
Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta is working out at spring coaching. Corey Sipkin for NY Post
Twice an All-Star, he completed fifth in last yr’s National League Cy Young Award voting.
But was Peralta’s addition alone enough to rework a rotation that cratered down the stretch last season?
Kodai Senga struggled enough that he agreed to settle for a minor league project in early September and completed his season with Triple-A Syracuse.
Sean Manaea strained an indirect in spring coaching and didn’t pitch for the Mets until July, and then hardly resembled the dominant power he was a yr earlier.
The left-hander pitched to a 5.64 ERA in 15 appearances, elevating questions about the determination to give him a three-year contract value $75 million before last season.
And then there was David Peterson, chosen to the NL All-Star team before pitching to a 6.34 ERA over 12 begins in the second half.
As pitchers and catchers report this week for spring coaching, there might not be a bigger query surrounding the team than whether the Mets have mounted their deadly flaw.
“We like our rotation,” Stearns said. “I think adding Freddy as somewhat of a stabilizing force to help lead our rotation probably gives a little bit of space to some of our younger pitchers and keeps the opportunity to get real bounce-back seasons from guys like Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga — who we are still going to rely upon and still believe are going to give us some real quality innings this year — so we like where our rotation is. I think it’s got a nice combination of youth and established major league veterans.”
Mets Pitcher Kodai Senga throws in the bullpen during spring coaching at Clover Field on Monday. Corey Sipkin for NY Post
There is McLean, who dazzled in his eight begins — all the while sustaining his rookie standing as he pitched to a 2.06 ERA over 48 innings.
Sproat’s subtraction perhaps can be offset by Christian Scott’s return from Tommy John surgical procedure, and Tong (who like Scott figures to start the season at Triple-A Syracuse) completes the gifted younger trifecta.
Clay Holmes was the one veteran starter on whom the Mets could rely in last season’s second half.
In his transition from reliever to starter, the right-hander pitched to a 3.53 ERA over a career-high 165 ²/₃ innings.
For insurance coverage, the Mets acquired the swingman Myers, who began six video games for the Brewers last season.
Peralta alone might be enough to change perceptions, but can he change outcomes?
That will probably rely on the other “aces” in home.
“We have got multiple starters in our rotation who at various points in their career have pitched as a No. 1 starter and certainly Freddy qualifies as that,” Stearns said. “We saw Nolan flash potential as a No. 1 starter last year. We have seen Sean Manaea pitch as an ace. Before I got here Kodai Senga pitched as an ace. We have multiple pitchers in our rotation right now that have pitched as an ace, and I would certainly put Freddy in that category.”
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