New York Mets: Simulating the offseason
By David Hill
Adding a fifth starter
In theory, the New York Mets rotation is close to set for the coming year. With the quartet of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Marcus Stroman, the Mets really just needed an innings eater in the back of the rotation.
With that in mind, and in keeping with the plan of adding players on a one or two year deal, we looked for the type of pitcher that could put up league average results on a relatively lower cost contract. To that end, we signed Ivan Nova to a one year deal worth $5 million.
Nova did not have the best season overall in 2019, posting an 11-12 record with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.455 WHiP, striking out 114 batters with 47 walks. However, he did lead the league with 34 starts, and pitched 187 innings. That would work perfectly for a fifth starter.
His season was also a tale of two halves. While Nova struggled in the first part of 2019, he righted the ship after the All Star Break. In his 87 innings in the second half, Nova posted a 7-5 record with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.368 WHiP, striking out 48 batters with 21 walks. Those numbers would be perfectly acceptable to round out the Mets rotation.
The New York Mets need someone that can take the ball every fifth day and eat innings to round out the rotation. Ivan Nova would fit that bill perfectly.