Mets returning to five-man rotation, Dillon Gee headed to bullpen?

In what has been a back-and-forth conundrum for the Mets, it appears that Terry Collins's starting pitching staff will return to a five-man rotation. He indicated that either Dillon Gee or Jon Niese will be moved into the bullpen. However, Collins said that Niese is not pitching for his job tonight, and already knows who will go to the pen. Read into that what you will, but it seems likely that Gee is headed to the bullpen.

The back end of the Mets' rotation has been struggling of late due to a stretch of poor outings by both Niese and Gee. Good starting pitching is a big reason why the Mets currently sit in first place; Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom make up one of the best one-two punches in baseball at the top of a rotation. Noah Syndergaard has shown flashes of brilliance, and will only continue to get better. Bartolo Colon is tied for the league lead in baseball with eight wins. The fifth starter will likely continue to be Jon Niese, for now.

The team has reportedly been actively shopping both Jon Niese and Dillon Gee on the trade market. Trading one or both of them could allow the Mets a spot in their rotation for their top prospect Steven Matz to be called up. Matz is a special left-handed arm, and someone to look forward to seeing in Queens sometime this summer. The 24-year-old has a 1.98 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 68.1 innings pitched with Triple-A Las Vegas this season.