Mets place Marcus Stroman on injured list with torn calf

In a major setback to their starting rotation just two days before the start of the 60-game 2020 season, the Mets have placed Marcus Stroman on the injured list with a torn muscle in his left calf. Given the team’s already-thin rotation depth, that news is far from ideal.

The Mets traded for Stroman at the trade deadline last year, getting him for a stretch run that turned out to be a lot of fun in 2019 and for all of the 2020 season before he’s eligible for free agency this winter. In total, he had a 3.22 ERA and 3.72 FIP in 184.1 innings of work last year between his time with the Blue Jays and Mets. In the eleven starts he made for the Mets after the trade, he had a 3.77 ERA.

With Noah Syndergaard out for all of 2020 following Tommy John surgery, the Mets’ rotation was already looking lessened with both Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha in it. And now the team will have to find another starting pitcher to slot into the rotation.