Now is not the time for Mets to make panic trade for starting pitcher

As Thomas Szapucki got roped around Oracle Park by the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, the calls from some Mets fans began to grow: Now is the time for the Mets to make a trade for a starting pitcher, they said. Not in a month, not at the trade deadline, but now.

And while people having that feeling was understandable after watching Szapucki give up four home runs and nine runs in a spot start that came about because of injuries, a postponement, and a doubleheader, that doesn't mean that feeling was right.

When taking a step back from Wednesday's mess, which doomed the Mets to their first back-to-back losses in what felt like forever, here's what New York is dealing with...

Tylor Megill, Jacob deGrom, and Max Scherzer are out. That deGrom is out is of course not a new development, and the Mets have built a seven-game lead in the NL East without him. 

Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, and David Peterson are the current starting rotation members, with the Mets needing to patch together one slot for the time being. 

What makes things a bit precarious for the Mets is that after their six-game homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals, their schedule gets quite difficult.

Following the homestand, the Mets have a 13-game stretch against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, and Milwaukee Brewers, with all of those series except the one against Milwaukee coming on the road.

For a team hurting in the rotation, the timing isn't great. But until Szapucki's clunker, the Mets -- since the injury to Scherzer -- had continued to show what they've displayed all season. This is a team with intestinal fortitude that should be able to weather storms that come their way.

Still, being concerned about the current state of the rotation is not crazy. But there are a few reasons why now is not the time to make a panic trade for a starting pitcher.

The first reason is that help is very likely on the way sooner rather than later.

That help should come in the form of Megill, who is already throwing and could begin tossing bullpen sessions this weekend. It's unclear how long it might take for Megill to make it back to the rotation, and he'll very clearly not be activated when first eligible on May 27 or even in the days after. But he has only been out for a short period, and his shutdown from throwing was brief.

That means that unlike deGrom and Scherzer, who will need to build back up after significant down time, Megill should not need very long to get back into game action.

If all goes well for Megill, he could possibly be back after another turn or two through the rotation, which would again give the Mets a full stable of five starting pitchers to rely on.

The second reason is that the market is not moving yet. Not with there still being more than two months to go until the trade deadline, and even the worst teams not ready to wave the white flag on their season.

Could the Mets bowl a team over right now and snag a pitcher like Frankie Montas, Zack Greinke, or Luis Castillo? Maybe. But that doesn't mean they should.

While it's not ideal, the Mets should be able to cobble one rotation spot together with Trevor Williams or an opener for a little while longer. Or they could give someone like Connor Grey -- who has spun 17.2 scoreless innings over his last three starts for Triple-A Syracuse -- a look.

If the Mets were to have another starter go down soon, the desire to dive into the trade market before it really develops could change. But at the moment, it's not the right play.

Looking beyond the return of Megill are the returns of deGrom and Scherzer, whose potential impact doesn't need to be explained. And it appears that deGrom might make it back before Scherzer.

DeGrom's rehab was recently transferred from Florida to New York, and he could be back throwing bullpen sessions soon, with a potential return to the Mets in late June. Even if deGrom makes it back in July, that will be a game-changer for a World Series-ready team that has gotten this far without him.

As far as Scherzer, we're now in the second week of his expected six-to-eight week absence. And he should be back in July if all goes well.

It's always a danger to rely on what-ifs. And in a way, the Mets are doing that in the cases of Megill, deGrom, and Scherzer.

But it's also fair to believe that Megill will be back soon, and that at least one of deGrom or Scherzer won't be too far behind.

And when you combine the above with the fact that the Mets currently have four starting pitchers who should be able to hold things down and weigh in the state of the trade market, it's crystal clear that now is not the time to make a panic move.