The Mets have reached the break-glass portion of the program when it comes to their starting pitching.
It is an emergency when, with each passing outing, they gain further information that their hoped-for Nos. 1-2 starters, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea, are not. That Frankie Montas isn’t even a No. 5, much less the playoff-caliber arm they assessed they were signing for $34 million. That Clay Holmes now appears a weary marathoner at Mile 25. That everyone not named David Peterson forgot that you are allowed to get an out in the sixth inning. That the veteran depth David Stearns obsessed to create has dissipated, if not evaporated, because — among other items — it appears the Mets are more likely to see if the rules allow an endless rehab assignment for Paul Blackburn rather than bring him back to the majors.
So even the patient, process-oriented Stearns can hold back tomorrow no longer. The Mets are going to turn to one of their touted arms, likely Nolan McLean or perhaps Brandon Sproat, to start Saturday at Citi Field against the Mariners. It is no longer about when they are ready. It is ready or not …
Because if the Mets are not going to get length from their starters, they might as well see if they could add the high-end stuff of McLean or Sproat since, among many problems, this rotation has become too hittable.