Montero makes his case for spot in 2015 rotation in Mets’ win

Jacob deGrom was skipped in what was to be his final start of the season, but fellow rookie Rafael Montero did a decent impersonation in his place.

Taking the mound instead of the NL Rookie of the Year front-runner, Montero allowed just one run over 5 ¹/₃ innings and struck out six, but the Mets' spot starter received a no-decision, with the offense producing just three hits until Lucas Duda's two-out walk-off home run in the ninth inning in a 2-1 win over the Astros on Saturday night at Citi Field.

With deGrom's season capped at 178 ²/₃ innings, Montero made his eighth career start and first since Sept. 10, allowing six hits and two walks.

The 23-year-old opened the game with five shutout innings before allowing a one-out RBI double to Jason Castro in the sixth inning then was pulled, having thrown 91 pitches, with 56 strikes.

Incredibly, it was just over four months ago, as Mets fans anticipated the seemingly inevitable call-up of Noah Syndegaard, the team made two less-heralded additions by bringing up Montero and deGrom up on May 12.

Jenrry Mejia's time as a starter had come to an end as Montero stepped into the rotation and deGrom headed for the bullpen, with general manager Sandy Alderson just wanting to give the latter a "little taste of what it is to be in the big leagues."

Then, deGrom filled in for an injured Dillon Gee and became the lasting legacy of the season, likely solidifying his spot in the rotation for years to come, while Montero spent the majority of the season in the minors.

Next season, an already crowded and competitive rotation — including deGrom, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Bartolo Colon — could become cloudier with Montero competing for a spot. Manager Terry Collins said Saturday that though the right-hander could end up in the bullpen, the team is keeping an open mind about what makes the most sense for Montero and the Mets.

"I think that'll be determined in time," Collins said. "Right now, because of what we're looking at, he's going to go to spring training most likely as a starting pitching candidate and then we'll make the determination in spring training where he best fits. When we get into camp, we're certainly going to give him some looks in the bullpen, but we have to make sure we have some depth in the rotation as far as that's concerned.

If at the end of spring training, we think he's a good option out of the bullpen, we'll make that adjustment."

Montero made two relief appearances this season, pitching a combined 1 ¹/₃ innings and allowing one run, two hits and two walks, while registering two strikeouts. He finished the season 1-4 with a 4.06 ERA, allowing just one run over his final two starts.

If the Mets believe Montero will be most effective as a starter, he might even begin next season at Triple-A Las Vegas.

"You got to look at where he can help us the most, where he can make us better," Collins said. "That determination will be made later on. If he's our best option to give us the quality bullpen we think we need, he'll be in that mix. If it's, 'Hey, look, we got five guys here,' but he's the next closest guy to help us in the rotation, I imagine he'll stay there."

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