Zack Wheeler Has a Torn UCL, As Once Again Nothing Ever Goes Right for the Mets

Life, death, taxes and nothing ever going right for the New York Mets. The latest bad news for the woebegone franchise is that talented righty Zack Wheeler has a torn UCL in his right elbow and will likely need Tommy John surgery, costing him all of the 2015.

It’s a tough blow for the Mets. Wheeler, 24, threw 185 innings in 2014 finishing with a 3.54 ERA. He’s been highly regarded since being traded from the Giants system for Carlos Beltran back in 2011. According to a report Sunday by Newsday, the Mets weren’t concerned about his workload from 2014.

If there’s any small silver lining, the Mets pitching staff still looks fairly strong with Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Jon Neise, Dillon Gee and Bartolo Colon. Wheeler’s injury could mean the Mets rush 22-year-old Noah Syndergaard into the rotation, or dip into their fairly well-stocked farm system.

Either way, it’s a tough blow for the Mets and their fanbase, which had some reason for optimism heading into 2015 — back in January I guessed they might make the Wild Card. It’s a cruel twist of fate to see Harvey come back from Tommy John surgery, which cost him all of 2014, only to see Wheeler go down in Spring Training.