Brodie Van Wagenen Actually Prepared the Mets With Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha in Wake of Syndergaard Injury

The New York Mets announced some terrible news on Tuesday afternoon: flamethrower Noah Syndergaard has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and requires Tommy John Surgery. It's a devastating blow to the Mets' pitching staff that no one saw coming, especially during the league shutdown.

However, the Mets are more prepared than you might think to withstand this blow. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen's moves to acquire Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha this past offseason now seem much wiser.

Back in December, Van Wagenen signed Wacha to a one-year, $3 million deal and Porcello to a one-year, $10 million deal. At the time, it seemed like they were going to have to battle it out for the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation with Steven Matz, and that the one loser would make their way to the bullpen in a long relief role. Considering the Mets' inability to keep their rotation healthy, the moves to get two more starting pitchers did seem educated, regardless of any injuries.

However, with Syndergaard now out, it opens up clearer roles for the two newcomers, and makes Van Wagenen look like he has incredible foresight.

The Mets rotation will now be spearheaded by Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman and rounded out with Porcello, Wacha, and Matz, thanks to Van Wagenen's preparation for a scenario such as this. Of course, no Mets fan should be glad that Syndergaard is out, but they can breathe a little easier knowing that their general manager readied the staff in case something like this happened.