The New York Mets enter Tuesday with an 80-76 record and are tied with the Cincinnati Reds. Due to tiebreakers, the Reds would have the third and final National League Wild Card spot, so there is work to do for the Mets.
On Tuesday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked what his playoff rotation would look like, but he didn't want to get into those details since they have yet to secure a playoff spot.
"I don't think we have the luxury right now to start thinking how are we going to line these guys up," Mendoza said in an episode of Foul Territory. "We'll take it one day at a time. Maybe this goes down to the last day. Who knows."
"Right now, everything's on the table. All hands on deck. And we will make those decisions when we have to," Mendoza concluded.
Rookie sensation Nolan McLean has been the best pitcher for the Mets over the past month, and him starting a potential Game 1 in the postseason does make sense for the team.
However, Mendoza doesn't want to think about that, at least not yet.
On Tuesday, they begin a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, and here is how the rotation is scheduled:
- Tuesday: David Peterson
- Wednesday: Jonah Tong
- Thursday: Brandon Sproat
The Mets then finish the regular season with a three-game series against the Miami Marlins in Florida, and as of right now, McLean is slated to start on Friday, barring some changes.
On Monday night, the San Diego Padres officially clinched a playoff spot with a walk-off win in extra innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, so the final NL spot is down to a few teams: The Mets, Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals are 3.5 games back of the final spot, but that is a tough hill to climb with less than one week left.
So, each day counts right now for the Mets, and until they clinch a spot, Mendoza doesn't seem to be thinking about the playoff rotation.