Josh Edgin Injury Will Damage New York Mets’ Bullpen
By Bryan Zarpentine
@BZarp
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The New York Mets‘ plan to win in 2015 behind a strong pitching staff may be about to take a hit. After showing decreased velocity early in spring, lefty reliever Josh Edgin is set to have his elbow examined. Edgin has also complained that his entire arm hurts, a statement that should strike a considerable amount of fear in the Mets. He is an important part of what could be an outstanding bullpen in 2015, and losing Edgin for a significant period of time would be damaging to the team’s pitching staff.
The issue at hand is that while the Mets have a parade of right-handed flamethrowers in their bullpen, they are quite light on the left side. It’s possible that Edgin would be the only lefty available to manager Terry Collins this year, which in itself is a problem, as Collins has abused his lefty relievers in previous years with overuse. Without Edgin, the Mets’ bullpen would be in big trouble from the left side.
The list of lefty relievers on the Mets’ roster outside of Edgin is quite underwhelming. Young pitchers like Sean Gilmartin, Dario Alvarez and Jack Leathersich all have limited, if any, major league experience, while veteran Scott Rice is coming off an injury that held him out the second half of last year following an underwhelming 2015 season. If Edgin is unavailable, there’s no guarantee any of the other lefty relievers would be deserving of a spot on the opening day roster. This could leave the Mets without a left-handed pitcher in their bullpen.
Adding a second lefty to the bullpen to help support Edgin is one move the Mets failed to make this offseason, and now it’s a move that could come back to haunt them. It’s important to remember that Edgin struggled last spring and began the 2014 season in the minors before earning a promotion and putting together a solid season. However, the Mets can’t rely on that happening again, and losing Edgin to injury or having to constantly worry about the health of his arm this season would create problems for the bullpen.
Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com. Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.
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