Veteran options Mets can weigh who could take Jason Vargas’ job

The Mets didn’t bolster their rotation with a free-agent addition until after spring training began last year and could take the same approach to Port St. Lucie, Fla., this season.

With several veteran pitchers still on the market and the Mets searching for a proven arm to add depth, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen suggested Monday the team might take a wait-and-see approach before potentially adding another arm.

Industry sources last week indicated the Mets have maintained contact with lefty Gio Gonzalez’s camp. Other veterans the Mets still might consider include Jeremy Hellickson, Clay Buchholz and Ervin Santana. The team’s pitchers and catchers must report to spring training by next Tuesday.

“We’ll have a chance to go down and not only see where our pitchers are at, but make evaluation decisions about other pitchers that exist around the league and see what the best opportunities are to make us better and we’ll keep our eyes open for it,” Van Wagenen said at Citi Field, where the Mets equipment truck was set to depart for Port St. Lucie.

Last year the Mets signed Jason Vargas to a two-year deal worth $16 million after pitchers and catchers had already reported to camp. A major league pitching addition at this point might come at Vargas’ expense, with the lefty shifted from the rotation to bullpen, giving the Mets protection against an injury.

As it stands, Vargas, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are slotted into the rotation, with Hector Santiago, Walker Lockett, Corey Oswalt and Kyle Dowdy among those who could be considered as rotation depth.

Vargas struggled last season, pitching to a 5.77 ERA in 20 starts overall. But he posted a respectable 3.81 ERA in 11 starts after the All-Star break. The lefty missed part of spring training after undergoing surgery to remove the hamate bone in his right hand after he was struck by a comebacker.

“As you look at Jason Vargas as the fifth starter, there are very few fifth starters around the league that have his pedigree,” said Van Wagenen, the former co-head of CAA baseball, which represents Vargas. “He finished last year with a really great and strong finish. He got off to a tough start because of the spring training that he missed, but we feel good about Vargas, we think [Seth] Lugo and [Robert] Gsellman are both real rotation-spot potential if we needed to go to them.”

But the Mets’ preference is to keep Lugo and Gsellman in the bullpen to join Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson among the proven options.

“I don’t think we have any restrictions about what we can and can’t do,” Van Wagenen said, referring to a potential pitching addition. “It’s more about how we fit the guys on the roster that we have. We’re deep. We’ve got more than 25 guys that are deserving to break camp and hopefully the fans recognize we did make a big offseason splash: We just spread it around.”

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