Game Preview: Mets @ White Sox

The Mets swept the Pirates this past weekend and then things got weird, even by Mets standards. The Mets traded Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson to the Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman. On its own, this is a solid move. It’s also a win now, win in 2020 move that doesn’t correlate with the possibility of trading Wheeler, Syndergaard etc. Then yesterday the Mets traded Vargas to the Phillies. As of 8:47 this morning, the Mets haven’t traded any additional pitchers away. If the Mets trade Wheeler (or worse, Syndergaard) now, we will have a rotation with Walker Lockett for the rest of the year and have to find a free agent starter next year. It’s all very murky because it doesn’t seem like the Mets have a plan.

Anyway, the Mets are still rolling out Noah Syndergaard tonight. Noah is 7-5 over 20 starts and 126.1 innings with a 4.33 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 1.263 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. In his last three starts he has tossed 21.0 innings allowing 7 runs, 6 earned, a 2.57 ERA with opponents getting on base at a .299 clip. The White Sox have the following numbers against Thor:

Welington Castillo 1-5, BB, 2 K
Jon Jay 3-3, 2B
James McCann 1-3, 2 K
Ryan GOins 0-2
Jose Abreu 0-1

The Mets bats will get a look at Reynaldo Lopez who was part of the Lucas Giolito deal from the Nationals for Adam Eaton. Reynaldo is in 4th major league season, 2nd full one, and things are not going great for him this year. Last year in 32 starts and 188.2 innings he posted a 3.91 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.272 WHIP and 109 ERA+. This year in 21 starts and 119.0 innings he has a 5.52 ERA, 5.17 FIP, 1.445 WHIP and 84 ERA+. His last three starts though have been a completely different story. He has pitched 21.0 innings allowing 5 runs, 4 earned off 13 hits and 4 walks. Opponents during this stretch are getting on base at a .222 clip. This is not the first time this season he has three starts in a row like this either, so the Mets tonight will be tempting his streaky-ness. The Mets have the following numbers against him: