NEW YORK -- Right-hander Rafael Montero, the prospect promoted Friday from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Las Vegas, may not debut in the majors this season.
That is partially a reflection of the Mets' rotation, which is performing well enough that Terry
Montero Collins plans to go two turns with six starters upon Zack Wheeler's arrival. It's also partly because Montero does not need to be added to the 40-man roster next offseason in order to be protected from Rule 5 draft eligibility.
But the biggest reason?
An innings limit, according to Collins.
Montero logged only 122 innings last season. He already is at 73 1/3 innings this year -- likely leaving him fewer than 80 innings remaining in 2013. Or, at his rate of innings per start, Montero probably has 13 starts remaining.
"I hope Montero goes, and I hope he pitches very, very well there," Collins said, referring to Las Vegas. "But you're looking at a guy who last year pitched 120 innings. He's going to get to that 150 mark pretty fast because he's been getting deep into games in Binghamton. How many innings he's going to have when you're looking up in late August, or early or the middle of August, it could be a situation where he's going to be spent anyway."