PORT ST. LUCIE — As Josh Edgin considers whether he should undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, the Mets have hit a boiling point concerning their bullpen.
“I’m not happy where we are with our left-handed situation, so that is a work in progress,” general manager Sandy Alderson said Thursday. “We’ll continue to watch and see what we have. Losing Josh would be unfortunate.”
Tests revealed Edgin has a stretched ligament in his left elbow, and the reliever is expected to decide in the next day or so whether to have surgery or attempt two or three weeks of rehabilitation. Even if Edgin selects the latter course, he almost certainly would open the season on the disabled list, according to Alderson.
Dario Alvarez, Scott Rice, Jack Leathersich and Sean Gilmartin are the other lefty relievers in camp, all on minor league contracts.
Alvarez was the latest of that group to have a late-inning meltdown. On Thursday, he surrendered four earned runs in the ninth inning without recording an out in the Mets’ 11-9 exhibition victory over the Nationals.
A day earlier Rice allowed five runs, four of which were earned, in two-thirds of an inning against the Marlins. The quartet of Alvarez, Rice, Leathersich and Gilmartin has posted a 15.43 ERA to open the exhibition season.
The most impressive left arm in camp belongs to Steven Matz, who surrendered two runs, one of which was unearned, over three innings against the Nationals. But at this point the Mets aren’t considering the rookie fireballer — who has been a starter his entire baseball life — for their bullpen.
“One of the things that makes us a real special organization is the depth of our pitching,” manager Terry Collins said. “And the one thing we don’t want to do is ruin that by taking a guy and putting him in a situation he has never pitched in, very uncomfortable doing, then you may look up in May and need a starting pitcher and all of a sudden he is a one-inning guy in the bullpen.”
Matz, who is expected to begin the season in the rotation at Triple-A Las Vegas, said it wouldn’t be his preference to pitch in relief, but he is on board with whatever decision the organization reaches.
“When you’re in the bullpen you don’t log as many innings, and development is all about innings and experience,” Matz said. “So the less innings that I get is probably the less development I would get as well.”
Alderson defended his decision to not add a lefty reliever on a major league contract in the offseason, saying he preferred a job competition in camp as opposed to guaranteeing a roster spot to somebody who might not have worked out.
“If you look at the free-agent market for left-handed pitching, there really only were a couple that signed for very large dollars,” Alderson said, referring to Andrew Miller and Zach Duke. “Everybody else is more or less in the same category.
“Through the offseason and the start of spring training there just wasn’t anybody in which we were prepared to invest a major league contract. It’s not the financial issue — it’s the commitment to the player.”
Lefty relief remains at a premium throughout the game, so the Mets can’t count on finding an answer on the waiver wire later in spring training.
The Mets have a trade chip in Dillon Gee, but finding a match between a team in need of rotation help that is willing to sacrifice lefty relief in return won’t be easy.
Edgin, 28, was 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 47 appearances last season for the Mets and just about guaranteed a roster spot if he was healthy.
“It is really disappointing,” Edgin said. “We are going to have a great year this year whether it is with me or without me.”