Mets Jason Vargas Suffered Hand Fracture: Fantasy impact
By Bill Pivetz
The Mets 2018 is starting off on the wrong note as pitcher Jason Vargas suffered a hand fracture. How does this affect his fantasy value?
The New York Mets are no stranger to injuries. Their starting rotation has been decimated by injuries over the last two season. This season is starting off the same as recently added pitcher Jason Vargas suffered a fracture to his non-throwing hand.
The early projections have Vargas missing anywhere from two to six weeks. If he is ready at the two-week mark, Vargas will be able to make his first start of the season. If not, and the signs are pointing that way, he’ll be ready by the beginning of May.
This is all without knowing if Vargus will undergo surgery or not. Tim Britton tweeted that Mets GM Sandy Alderson said Vargas will “either pitch through it or he’ll have it surgically repaired.” The Mets should know sometime later on Sunday.
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Vargas was signed to add depth to an injury-riddled Mets rotation. Jacob deGrom was the only starter to pitch a full season last year. Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman all missed time at some point. Some of them even landed on the DL the year prior.
Vargas won a career-high 18 games with a 4.16 ERA and 1.330 in 32 starts with the Royals last season.
When news broke that he signed, I was a fan of the move. The offenses as a whole aren’t dangerous and the ballparks seem to favor pitchers more than hitters, outside of Citizens Bank Park.
The Mets will likely put Wheeler into his spot in the lineup. Wheeler dealt with his fair of injuries as well, recently coming back after missing two seasons from Tommy John surgery. He doesn’t have the same outlook as Vargas this season. You can find better value late in the draft.
Vargas entered this season with a 319.0 ADP, according to FantasyPros. He is a 27th round pick in 12-team mixed leagues as the 121st starting pitcher drafted. I would have taken him as a late-round flier for his low ratios. He still has some value in NL-only leagues.
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The injury isn’t to his pitching hand, which is a positive for his outlook. The only thing that will hinder his return date will be if he undergoes surgery. If he doesn’t, Vargas should be back in the Mets rotation by the second week of April at the latest. If you have a DL spot in your lineup, and it’s not already used, why not stash Vargas there for some pitching depth? You can easily drop him if you need to.