Rosenthal: This shouldn’t be so complicated. Jacob deGrom should start Game 2

The Mets waited more than half the season for Jacob deGrom and now they’re going to delay using him in the playoffs? That seems to be the plan, and it’s Postseason Overthinking 101. Either deGrom is physically compromised or this is a questionable plan, at best.

Max Scherzer will start Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Padres. No problem there — Scherzer, too, is an ace. But Mets manager Buck Showalter said Thursday night that his choice of Game 2 starter might hinge on the outcome of Game 1.

In other words, if the Mets win Game 1, they could go with Chris Bassitt in Game 2, and try to sweep the Padres without pitching deGrom. This would not be Zack Britton II, a reprise of the 2016 American League wild-card game when Showalter’s Orioles were eliminated without using their best reliever.  No, Showalter would start deGrom if the Mets faced elimination in either Game 2 or Game 3.

The Mets’ strategy, though Showalter didn’t say it explicitly, is apparently to set up deGrom to pitch twice in the best-of-five Division Series against the Dodgers, starting with the series opener. Which is where the first-guessing begins. Teams get too cute when they start thinking too far ahead in the postseason.