The Mets will have the third left-hander option for their rotation this season.
In an effort to create depth of rotation, the club acquired Joey Lucchesi from Padres on Monday as part of a three-team deal that included Pirates. In the trade, the Mets sent minor league Endy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the Padres have acquired pitcher Joe Musgrove from Pirates for four prospects.
Lucchesi, 27, appeared in just three games for the Padres last season. A year earlier, he was 10-10 with a 4.18 ERA and 1,222 WHIP in 30 starts for the team.
He spent most of last season at Padres’ alternate training ground as the team looked at younger pitchers. In his three appearances last season, Lucchesi won an ERA of 7.94.
The move gives the Mets another potential left-hander, joining David Peterson and Steven Matz for the rebuilt rotation. Lucchesi’s arrival will make it easier for the Mets to move Seth Lugo back to the bullpen.
In their current state, the Mets have as rotation options Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman, Peterson, Matz, Lucchesi and Lugo to start the season. The Mets are also hopeful that Noah Syndergaard will return in June after the rehabilitation of Operation Tommy John.
Lucchesi still has minor league options, so even if he didn’t break the Mets list in spring training, he would offer depth to Triple-A Syracuse. He will not become eligible for refereeing until the next off-season.
Lucchesi was spent by his parents because of their wild off-season play, which included the additions of Yu Darvish and Blake Snell to their rotation, in addition to Musgrove.
But the Mets, under new owner Steve Cohen, team president Sandy Alderson and general manager Jared Porter, have rebuilt their own rotation.
It started with Stroman, who accepted the club’s qualifying offer of $ 18.9 million for this season and continued with the addition of Carrasco, who reached an agreement that brought Francisco Lindor from Cleveland.
Matz is the wild card in the rotation mix. The left-hander reached 9.68 ERA last season and was relegated to the bullpen, but the Mets offered him a contract this season, and the parties agreed on a one-year contract for $ 5.25 million.
Although Lugo declared his preference to play as a starter – last season he was pushed into this role due to needs – his best work came from bullpen, where he was among the best NL relievers in 2018 and ’19.
Still awaiting the potential depth of the starting rotation, the Mets plan to research a showcase in Miami on Tuesday, in which veterans Julio Tehran and Anibal Sanchez participate.
The Mets offseason also included the capture of James McCann on a $ 40.6 million four-year deal and rescuer Trevor May on a 15.5-year deal millions of dollars.
But the Mets may not be finished, as they remain on the hunt to score George Springer, the best player on the market, and Brad Hand, a quality left-hander. The Blue Jays are the only other contender known to Springer, whom the Mets would like to install as a center fielder, allowing Brandon Nimmo to play on the left. Hand, who has been linked to several teams, became a free agent after Cleveland, in the payroll elimination mode, turned down the 2021 option.