All of those injuries, save for Familia’s, are long-term, and the July 31 deadline? Well, it sure looks further away than just five weeks.
It could be finding a starter, it could be going with quote-unquote bulk guys to get you through some innings.
Of course, it behooves Scott to play it cool.
He made a valiant effort to stay in, throwing one warm-up pitch, consulting with the trainer again, and throwing two more, but was soon lifted for Yennsy Diaz.
There are players in the farm system who could be potential, immediate band-aids – lefthander Thomas Szapucki and righty Tyler Megill – and he’s also ready to work the waiver wire.
“I don’t go into it with an all-in approach, that we’re pushing all our chips in the middle because I think that can be very shortsighted,” he said.
So where does that leave the Mets over the next few weeks? Well, despite his desire to find internal and cost-efficient options, Scott has made it no secret that he’s willing to deal.
“You want to always get the best players,” he said.
The top three – Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker – have been a formidable presence, but there needs to be some caution with deGrom, who’s throwing as hard as he ever has but has also been nicked by small, frustrating injuries.
“I mean, we’re going to explore all options so, yeah, obviously it would be great to add a player who could impact the team,” he said.