There was an Andy Martino article at SNY today talking about how the Mets are still in the market for a starting pitcher after missing out on Julio Teheran, who instead signed with the Orioles. At one point in time, Teheran was a pretty good pitcher. But, c’mon, that was years ago. His addition to the team right now would not move the needle a centimeter. Here’s what Martino said:
If it’s not Teheran for the Mets, it should be someone. The front office spent the winter adding starters and relievers with high ceilings (though, in many cases, trouble throwing strikes), which is one of the reasons why the team genuinely believes that it’s being underestimated in most predictions, and will contend for a playoff spot.
But even before Kodai Senga’s shoulder injury, and especially after, it’s easy to understand why outsiders look at the back-of-the-rotation group of Tylor Megill, Jose Butto, Adrian Houser and Joey Lucchesi as a bit thin.
Since the year 2020 this is what the last four pitchers and Teheran have produced in the majors:
Butto – 46 IP, 4.70 ERA, 90 ERA+, 4.42 FIP
Houser – 412.1 IP, 4.13 ERA, 102 ERA+, 4.28 FIP
Lucchesi – 90.2 IP, 3.87 ERA, 108 ERA+, 3.80 FIP
Megill – 263.1 IP, 4.72 ERA, 87 ERA+, 4.66 FIP
Teheran – 108 IP, 5.92 ERA, 74 ERA+, 6.07 FIP
If you want to add to a “thin” group, you should be at least average but preferably better than what’s already there. Here are Teheran’s ranks among this thin group:
IP – Third of five
ERA – last
ERA+ – last
FIP – last
It’s crazy to believe that the Mets need to add some guy who was last good on another team … checks notes … five years ago.
If the Mets want to get into a one-year deal with Jordan Montgomery, that’s fine. Otherwise, let’s not pretend that a scrub like Teheran would make the slightest bit of difference.
Ha. The same thought popped into my mind when I saw that. If one Butto, Megill, and Joey L can’t outpitch 2024 Teheran, it won’t matter. And as far as Clevenger it Lorenzen, why would they spend close to $20 million with that for another back ender, it doesn’t make sense. Montgomery would be the guy to eat money on in 2024 since he projects as a piece in 25-26 too. Cohen simply doesn’t want to spend another $60 million in 2024.
Thank you Brian! I find “sports writers” like Andy Martino more then just annoying. The cr@p that he and his ilk puts out to the public is just so embarrassing. Do these people have no shame or sense of dignity? Oh wait; they are “journalists”. Thank you for allowing me to vent also. And thank you for you and your fellow contributors for having intelligent dialogues regarding our Mets.
Perhaps we need to be careful about shooting the messenger here. Martino actually has sources and if he reports that the Mets were engaged with Teheran’s camp, that carries more weight than someone else at that site reporting it.
Our pitching staff is what it is right now and can we do well with another (preferably good, young solid) pitcher, sure, anyone could, but again, need to trust the process, and I like what we are doing moving forward. Spring training just got under way a week ago – and in other news….. we’re doing pretty good early on in spring training. 🙂
Lucchesi seems to be the best one out of the bunch. I would go with him. I think he’s going to beat out Manaea if and when Senga comes back.
My hope is that Butto or Lucchesi gets the nod to fill in for Senga. And while it wouldn’t surprise me if whoever gets the gig while Senga is out remains in the rotation once Senga returns, I’d be very surprised if the guy they bump is Manaea.
To me, it will be Megill. He seems to be healthier than he was at least for the first part of 2022, has developed a splitter, and ended well at the end of last season. i’m also OK with Butto and Lucchesi as backups.
Let’s be realistic: it will probably not be any of them by himself – it will be all of them at some point or another. There are reasons why these guys are merely “depth” pitchers. Because none of them has been able to hold on to a job as a regular. So whoever gets the job will, at some point, probably be replaced by one of the others. Yes, its possible that Megill has a resurgence. Or that Butto is still building up to a ceiling that he has yet to reach. Or that Lucchesi has fully bounced back from his TJ by now, something he had not shown heading into last season.
They don’t need another depth pitcher. They needed a SP2 from the beginning of the off-season. A SP2 would cost a multi-year contract and $20-25m per year. That cost of money and years wasn’t in Stearn’s plans. That plan was short sighted but he sold it as a long-sighted plan. A legitimate SP2 would have cushioned the Senga injury. A SP2 instead of Severino or Manaea would have cost another $10m but it would be money well spent. Signing a SP2 and Alex Wood instead of Severino and Manaea would have cost the same expenditure. That this point, give Lucchesi, Butto or Megill the chance.