Projecting the Mets Rotation for 2023

The Mets rotation in 2022 was a strength, but won’t look the same this year. Still, the Mets have the potential to run out a strong and deep group for the second straight season. With that said, let’s take a look at the Mets rotation options for the 2023 season.

Related: Projecting the Yankees Rotation for 2023

A Look at the Mets Rotation Options

1. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA, 9.5 K/9)
2. RHP Max Scherzer (11-5, 2.29 ERA, 10.7 K/9)
3. RHP Kodai Senga (Pitched in Japan)
4. LHP José Quintana (6-7, 2.93 ERA, 7.4 K/9)
5. RHP Carlos Carrasco (15-7, 3.97 ERA, 9.0 K/9)

The New York Mets rotation will look quite different as compared to last year, as Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, and Taijuan Walker all found new homes. With those three gone, some new faces are set to replace them in Queens this season.

Starting at the top, the Mets have a new ace in Justin Verlander. Verlander, who will start the 2023 season at 40 years of age, dominated MLB hitters in his return from UCL reconstruction surgery. The righty won his third AL Cy Young award last season, a year that saw Verlander win 18 games and lead all of baseball in ERA (1.75). Will Verlander regress in 2023? It’s certainly possible, but perhaps we shouldn’t doubt what the future Hall of Famer can do going forward.

Verlander will re-join Max Scherzer, the righty’s former teammate with the Tigers. Scherzer went 11-5 with a 2.29 ERA last season, and recorded very strong batted ball, chase, and whiff metrics. The numbers from the 38-year-old were strong, but there were some problems along the way. Scherzer did have multiple stints on the IL due to left oblique problems. Not to mention, the star pitcher got rocked in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card round against the Padres. Across 4.2 innings, Scherzer gave up seven hits and seven earned runs in a loss to San Diego.

Another new addition to the Mets rotation is RHP Kodai Senga. Senga dominated in Japan, thanks to an very good fastball and his ace in the hole, a splitter that’s been dubbed the “ghost” pitch.

The third new arm in New York’s rotation for 2023 is LHP José Quintana. A year after getting battered with Anaheim and San Francisco, Quintana recorded a very tidy 2.93 ERA over 165.2 innings with the Pirates and Cardinals. When on, it’s hard to beat the lefty. The 34-year-old possesses a good curveball and change, the latter of which can be played off well with his fastball/sinker.

Carlos Carrasco is set to return for third third season as a Met. Despite a left oblique strain that kept him out for three weeks late in the summer, “Cookie” stayed healthy for almost all of 2022. Carrasco proved to be a steady arm for the Mets last year, as he posted above-average K% and BB% rates and got outs with his splitter and slider.

Should the Mets run into injury problems, the Mets do have backup options. Both RHP Tylor Megill and LHP David Peterson pitched well at times in the rotation last year, giving the Mets two adequate fill-in options. Given that the Mets have one of the oldest — and injury prone — rotations in the league, that’s important.

But if the Mets pitching staff can stay largely healthy, New York’s rotation could be one of MLB’s best.