With uncertainty about whether Jacob deGrom and/or Noah Syndergaard will return for them in 2021, the New York Mets were shut out by Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday.
It left you with a feeling of what could have been, given that Wheeler spent the first five seasons with the Mets before signing a five-year/$118 million free-agent contract with the division-rival Phillies in free agency.
Sunday's performance -- which allowed Wheeler to become the odds-on favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award -- also further exemplified the ridiculously-natured comments that then-Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen made after the right-hander left the Mets following the 2019 season:
The back-and-fourth between Wheeler and Van Wagenen began when Wheeler told Greg Joyce of The New York Post in February of 2020 that he really didn't hear much of anything from the Mets during free agency, adding that he wasn't surprised "because it's them, that's how they roll."
Van Wagenen responded by seemingly taking a swipe at Wheeler to Tim Healy of Newsday:
"Our health and performance department, our coaches all contributed and helped him parlay two good half-seasons over the last five years into $118 million. I'm proud of what our group was able to help him accomplish. I'm happy he was rewarded for it. Players deserve to be rewarded when they perform well. More than anything else, I'm thrilled with the pitching staff we have."
Wheeler did miss two full seasons as a Met after having Tommy John surgery in March of 2015, but clearly flashed front-line potential when healthy as a Met. It's true that Wheeler going 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA in 11 starts after the 2018 All-Star Break probably wasn't indicative of his time with the team, but it was disingenuous to suggest that outside of a couple stretches Wheeler wasn't a very good pitcher for the Mets. He had a 3.77 ERA and 3.71 FIP in 126 starts as a Met, throwing 180 or more innings in three separate seasons. Really, the 5.21 ERA that he posted in his first 17 starts after Tommy John surgery in 2017 was the outlier during Wheeler's time in Queens.
Ahead of his age-30 season, Wheeler reached free agency. The Mets had the two-time defending National League Cy Young Award winner in Jacob deGrom, along with both Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman under team control for two more years. So, they allowed Wheeler to walk.
Van Wagenen and the Mets couldn't have predicted that Stroman would opt out of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nor could they have predicted that Syndegaard would have to undergo Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, which may ultimately cost him two whole seasons, as it once did with Wheeler.
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However, even if the Mets had two full seasons with both Stroman and Syndergaard, it's hard to believe they would have gotten better production than they would have by keeping Wheeler. Since the start of the 2020 season, Wheeler has a 2.58 ERA and 2.67 FIP across 227 innings. His 7.6 fWAR is tops among all major league pitchers over that span, slightly above the 7.5 mark of deGrom.
Granted, the Mets do now have new ownership and a front office that they hope will help avoid future errors like the one that allowed a front-line pitcher to leave in free agency. But for at least three more seasons, they'll be reminded of the disastrous decision to let Wheeler walk, given that he'll be pitching for another contending team in their division.
Since joining the Phillies, Wheeler is now 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA in seven starts against the Mets. After Sunday's win, Wheeler didn't deny that it feels good to have success against his former team, but he pretty quickly redirected the conversation back to the job at hand -- helping the Phillies edge out the Mets and Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
"I think I'll always have that little chip on my shoulder, I mean, we're all human," Wheeler said of pitching against the Mets. "But at the same time, you have to come here and concentrate and finish out the series with a win and get out of here with a sweep. You're always trying to bear down and pitch as best as you can. When you get some wins off in a row and you're rolling, it just feels really good."
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