I’m trying to be better about posting more, but have been super-duper busy. This post today is based on a notion I have had for weeks, but haven’t had the time to flesh out my thoughts. I asked the MetsPoliceBot AI to flesh out my notion. If some of the stats here are wrong take it up with “him” but I think spiritually it feels right.
There’s a problem nobody at 41 Seaver Way wants to talk about – innings. Or more specifically, the lack of them.ake Kodai Senga. Our Japanese ace threw just 5.1 innings in 2024 due to shoulder issues. FIVE AND A THIRD. That’s not a typo. The guy who was supposed to anchor our rotation barely pitched enough to cover a single start. And now we’re expecting him to be a workhorse in 2025? Come on.
Then there’s Clay Holmes, our big bullpen acquisition. He managed 63 innings for the Yankees last year. Respectable for a reliever, but he’s just one man, and are we realistically expecting him to triple his career high and pitch into October?
To be fair, the modern MLB starter is throwing fewer innings than ever. In 2024, only 10 pitchers in all of baseball threw 180+ innings. (Is that right? Ask the AI, I am too lazy.) Just a decade ago in 2014, that number was 34. Go back to 2004, and 43 pitchers cleared that mark.
The average MLB starter now gives you about 5.1 innings per start. Do the math: a full-time starter making 30 starts gives you around 155 innings – and that’s assuming perfect health, which we know is as rare at Citi Field as a drama-free season.
So now we’re supposed to believe Senga can jump from 5.1 innings to… what exactly? Even 120 innings would be a massive leap. And that’s still 40-60 innings short of what you need from a top-rotation arm.
But hey look it’s Juan Soto and a flash documentary. Stop asking questions!
One thing that will help – missing the playoffs. Then you don’t have to worry about those pesky extra 5 starts at the end of the year on tired arms. Oh, and ask Matt Harvey’s career how THAT goes.
