On July 27, 2018, the New York Mets received RHP Franklyn Kilome from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for infielder Asdrubal Cabrera. After making significant strides with his control in seven starts for Double-A Binghamton, it was discovered Kilome had a torn UCL, and he would undergo Tommy John surgery nearly three months to the date of the trade.

As Tim Healey of Newsday reports, Kilome’s rehab is going well, and Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said he expects the pitcher to be healthy in 2020. What was not specified was at what point during 2020.

Notably, as we have seen with pitchers like Matt Harvey, the Mets have historically preferred to give their starting pitchers 18 months to recover from the surgery before giving them a full workload. In term of Kilome, that would mean he would not be fully ready to go until late April to early May.

This means while Kilome will likely be at Spring Training, he may not be as full a participant as someone who would be vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Certainly, that takes him out of the fifth starter equation to start the season. On that point, it should be noted the Mets have not yet determined if they see Kilome as a starter or reliever next year.

On that note, MLB Pipeline said of Kilome, “He should continue his development as a starter when he returns in 2020, though there’s a non-zero chance that Kilome, with his fastball-curveball combo, will end up in the bullpen.”

On Kilome’s future, there is a lot which will happen between now and Spring Training. The team should be signing pitching depth for the Major League club and Syracuse. Perhaps, the best plan going forward is to slot him into a rotation with Stephen Gonsalves, Walker Lockett, and Corey Oswalt and allow the chips fall where they may.