Chris Bassitt's Consistency has Helped Stabilize New York Mets' Rotation
What a difference a year makes.
When Jacob deGrom suffered forearm tightness followed by elbow soreness last July, it was a huge hit to the Mets’ starting rotation.
DeGrom wound up missing the remainder of the season, and the performance of the rest of the staff began to crumble beyond him.
The team’s lone All-Star in 2021, Taijuan Walker, had a dreadful second half of the season that saw him pitch to a 7.13 ERA in 13 starts.
Carlos Carrasco debuted in late summer, and logged a 6.04 ERA in 12 games.
The only true bright spot was Marcus Stroman, who pitched in 33 games for the Mets and had a 3.02 ERA and a rookie Tylor Megill, who exceeded expectations early on, but started to fade towards the end of the season.
This winter, upgrading the starting rotation was a top priority for the Mets. They doled out a monster three-year deal in free agency to Max Scherzer to co-ace with Jacob deGrom.
Perhaps, however, the most shrewd move of all was acquiring right-hander Chris Bassitt from the Oakland Athletics.
Bassitt, 33, has been splendid for the Mets since switching coasts.
The eight-year veteran has pitched to a 13-7 record in 26 starts, to go along with a 3.24 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 3.58 xFIP and has been worth 3.0 fWAR.
In his nine starts since the All-Star break, Bassitt has a 2.28 ERA and has allowed just one home run. He has also gone eight starts without allowing a long ball, the longest stretch for a Mets pitcher since Tom Glavine during the Shea Stadium days.
During Game 1 of Wednesday’s double dip with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bassitt struck out 10 batters for the second time this year, and gave the Mets some length as he chipped in seven innings of work.
“He’s just been consistent really all year,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said following the team’s 5-1 win. “He’s just posted up for us at every turn, and a big outing today.”
The Mets rotation has been banged up as of late. Scherzer landed on the injured list with tenderness in his oblique earlier this week, and Walker pitched through a blister in Tuesday night’s loss to Pittsburgh.
While Bassitt isn’t a household name like deGrom and Scherzer, and doesn’t come with the same fanfare, he has been a solidifying presence in the team’s rotation.
A bulldog on the mound, Bassitt might reach the 200 inning mark this year, and has averaged 98.4 pitches thrown per game this season.
In a postseason series, having Bassitt behind the Mets two aces would be trouble for an opposing team’s offense and is just what the Mets needed after a dismal 2021 rotation.
Read More:
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- Mets Lose Max Scherzer to IL Again
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