TORONTO — Remember Rich Harden?
Hard-throwing right-hander from last decade. Struck out a lot of guys, walked a lot of guys. Got hurt a lot, too.
In July 2008, the A’s traded Harden — one year away from free agency — to the Cubs for a considerable package of minor leaguers that included a 22-year-old Josh Donaldson, and I recall asking an executive from a third team for his anonymous take on the deal.
“Good job by the A’s,” the executive said. “Remember when you played ‘Hot potato’ as a kid? Harden is a hot potato.”
Fast-forward to Tuesday night at Rogers Centre, where hard-throwing, bat-missing, occasionally control-challenged Zack Wheeler continued what has been a largely solid 2018 for him, even as the Mets’ bullpen imploded its way into yet another deflating loss, 8-6 to the Blue Jays.
Is the 28-year-old finally hitting his stride, one year away from free agency? Or is he a hot potato?
The Mets owe it to themselves to lean toward the latter.
With a scout from the Phillies (who could use a starting pitcher) on site, the right-hander allowed two runs, three hits and three walks, striking out five, over 6 ¹/₃ innings of work, and he departed in the seventh inning with a 6-1 advantage. In short time, Anthony Swarzak and Robert Gsellman teamed to give up that lead in that very inning, and then in the eighth, rookie Tim Peterson gave up the game-winning, two-run homer to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. But that didn’t take away from the reality that Wheeler continued what has been a nice roll.
“I’ve had some good times a couple of years ago, but yeah, this is a good little stretch right now,” Wheeler said, after I asked him whether this is the best he has felt as a big-leaguer. “Hopefully I can keep it going.”
“Obviously [he] deserved a better fate than he got,” manager Mickey Callaway said.
Wheeler’s four-seam fastball averaged 97.6 mph, as per Brooks Baseball’s Pitch f/x tool, and he got five swings and misses on his slider. This marked his ninth straight effort of five innings or more, and in that stretch, totaling 57 innings, he has a 3.32 ERA. He has avoided the disabled list all season.
In summation, he has teamed with Steven Matz to give the Mets’ starting rotation a respectable second unit behind Jacob deGrom and, when healthy, Noah Syndergaard. Even with Syndergaard’s absence and Jason Vargas’ epic ineptitude, starting pitching has given the Mets the fewest migraines during their collapse from 11-1 to 33-49.
All that’s left here is assessing who stays and who goes, from the three interim general managers to Callaway to the players. The Mets have indicated their profound reluctance to sell high on deGrom, their ace, who is under control through 2020.
If they keep deGrom through the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline and all the way into next season, then they must improve the roster around him in hopes of contention, right? Hence that question, vis-à-vis Wheeler, becomes: Is next year’s team better with Wheeler, or with the potential return they can get for him?
“Your name’s going to get brought up,” Wheeler said. “Got to put that in the back seat and keep riding. … Obviously I want to be here, but some things are out of your control.”
Alas, it’s a dangerous game to assume that all is well after all of the problems that Wheeler has endured. And he still has a 4.36 ERA, far from great, for the season.
Harden had reached higher peaks with the A’s than Wheeler has with the Mets, and the A’s decided to pull the trigger. Harden performed well enough with the Cubs in ’08 and ’09, only to be done pitching in 2011, before he turned 30.
Baseball hot potato can be high-stakes. You don’t want to be left holding that potato when the music stops. So if the Mets get a good enough offer on Wheeler, they should pass over the potato, sentiment be darned, and salute Wheeler for upgrading himself into a worthwhile trade chip.
