Adrian Houser’s Struggles Continue As Potential Replacements Near Return

Adrian Houser entered Saturday’s start against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 7.45 ERA through four starts. Houser needed to a turn in a strong outing to ensure his spot in the rotation. Instead, it was more of the same with Houser on the mound. The New York Mets made a late push, but it wouldn’t be enough, as the Cardinals secured a series victory on the road with a 7-4 win on Saturday.

Houser could not have drawn up a worse start to the game, surrendering four hits to the first five batters. Extra-base knocks from Paul Goldschmidt and Brendan Donovan opened the game up, as the Cardinals took an early 4-0 lead. Nolan Gorman would add to the scoring with an RBI double in third, and in the fifth, another run was charged to Houser with Josh Walker on the mound. From start to finish, it was another tough day for the right-handed starter. Houser allowed six runs on nine hits in just 4 1/3 innings.

“The way I’m pitching right now is pretty unacceptable. Need to be better. Can’t be putting these guys in a hole right at the beginning of the game,” Houser said. Even when he has been able to avoid first inning trouble, opponents have been able to force him into long innings. Through five starts, Houser owns a 9.00 ERA in the the first inning, allow seven hits, four of which have been doubles.

It is early in the season so there isn’t a lot of data, but the numbers suggest Houser is at his best when working with Francisco Alvarez. In 10 1/3 innings with Alvarez behind the plate, the starters owns a 2.61 ERA. In comparison, Houser has a 10.61 ERA in 9 1/3 innings with Omar Narváez and a 18.00 ERA in four innings with Tomás Nido. Catcher’s wins are always a tricky statistic, especially with more and more of the calls coming by either the pitcher themselves or the dugout, however, Alvarez’s absence may just be hurting the team in more ways than one.

If this level of pitching continues for him, it won’t be long before he is out of the rotation. Tylor Megill threw two perfect innings in his first rehab start for the Brooklyn Cyclones on Saturday. Additionally, manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that starter Kodai Senga could face hitters in live batting practice as soon a Monday. Reinforcements are on the way, and if Houser is unable to pick it up, he will be the odd man out when either of them return from the injured list. Not to mention, the Mets have a young option, in top prospect Christian Scott (3.48 ERA in Triple-A), waiting in the wings with Syracuse (Triple-A).

If, or when Houser is demoted from the rotation, it is possible that the Mets could use him in the bullpen as a long reliever. Houser occupied that role in his early years with the Milwaukee Brewers, most notably in 2019. He made 35 appearances that season, 17 of which came as a reliever. Houser has only six relief appearances since then, so it would take him time to get comfortable in that role again. Regardless, it is more than likely that his role is set to drastically change in the next two or three weeks.

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