The New York Mets have spent the last two years chasing a ghost. Specifically, the ghost of a six-man rotation that could actually survive a trip to the grocery store, let alone a 162-game grind. Last spring, the dream died before the first beer was poured at Clover Park.
Sean Manaea’s oblique acted up, Frankie Montas blew out his lat, and suddenly David Stearns was playing roster Tetris with a rotation held together by duct tape and prayer. We saw the result: a staff that ran out of gas, a June that felt like a slow-motion car crash, and a deadline where the front office sat on its hands while the season went into the furnace.
But look at the board today. The trade for Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers isn’t just another “depth move” in the Stearns catalog. It’s a total shift in the gravity of this organization. For the first time since Kodai Senga hopped the pond, the Mets aren’t just hoping for health—they’re actually prepared for the lack of it.
Overflowing the Cup
Right now, if everyone wakes up without a stiff neck, the Mets have nine guys who can legitimately take the ball. Peralta is the undisputed alpha, fresh off a 2025 where he shoved for 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts. Behind him, you’ve got Senga looking for a bounce-back, Nolan McLean proving he belongs in the conversation about frontline starters, and Clay Holmes, who transitioned to starting better than anyone had a right to expect. Toss in David Peterson and Sean Manaea, and you already have a full house. Six names.
The difference this year is the kids. Jonah Tong is a strikeout machine who treated the minor leagues like a video game last summer, and Christian Scott is finally back from that hybrid Tommy John surgery. These aren’t just “prospects” anymore. They are live arms that can win big-league games tomorrow. Adding Tobias Myers—a guy who lived in the strike zone for Milwaukee—gives manager Carlos Mendoza a luxury he hasn’t had: the ability to actually protect his investments.
Protecting the Precious
A six-man rotation isn’t about being cute or following some trendy spreadsheet. It’s about survival. Senga’s ghost fork is elite, but the man’s body has been a question mark since he arrived. McLean is a freak athlete, but we’re asking him to carry a heavy load for the first time. Why would you run these guys out there on four days’ rest when you have the sheer volume of talent to give them an extra sunset between starts?
Sure, you lose a spot in the bullpen. That’s the bar-room argument. But with Devin Williams at the back end and Luke Weaver poaching innings, the bridge to the ninth is sturdier than it’s been in a decade. You don’t need an eight-man bullpen if your starters are actually rested enough to see the sixth inning.
Stearns has been criticized for being too conservative, for hunting “value” over “stars,” but the Peralta deal changed the math. He didn’t just buy an ace; he bought insurance for every other arm on the staff. If one of these guys goes down in Port St. Lucie next month—and let’s be real, someone usually does—the season doesn’t end. Myers steps in, or Scott moves up, and the machine keeps humming. It’s time to stop talking about the six-man dream and start living it.