Rubin: Mets’ six-man rotation all about protecting arms

From Adam Rubin at ESPN.com on June 3, 2015, with mention of SABR member Frank Vaccaro:

With Dillon Gee officially returning from the disabled list Wednesday to face the San Diego Padres, the New York Mets will begin something atypical, but not revolutionary.

The Amazin’s will implement a six-man rotation.

The objective: to keep the season innings totals in check for young pitchers Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, and especially for Matt Harvey in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. Trying to ensure 42-year-old Bartolo Colon and the injury-prone Jonathon Niese do not break down may be a positive byproduct of the expanded rotation, too.

The aim is to get each pitcher roughly 30 starts this season, instead of the 33 they would get with a five-man rotation.

The six-man rotation could continue into mid-August, pitching coach Dan Warthen said, assuming the pitchers’ sharpness does not suffer with the unaccustomed extra rest between outings.

Read the full article here: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/104060/mets-six-man-rotation-all-about-protecting-arms-young-and-old?ex_cid=espnapi_public



Originally published: June 3, 2015. Last Updated: June 3, 2015.