The Mets have a third left-handed option for their turn this season.
In an effort to create rotation depth, club Joey Lucchesi acquired from the Padres on Monday as part of a three-team deal that included the Pirates. In trade, the Mets sent minor legion Endy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh. The Padres, meanwhile, have acquired Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove for four prospects.
Lucchesi, 27, appeared in just three games for the Padres last season. A year earlier, he had started 10-10 with a 4.18 ERA and 1,222 WHIP in 30 for the team.
He spent most of last season at Padres’ alternative training ground as the team looked at younger pitchers. In his three appearances last season, Lucchesi offered a period of 7.94.
The move gives the Mets another potential left-wing appetizer, joining David Peterson and Steven Matz for their rebuilt rotation. Lucchesi’s arrival will make it easier for the Mets to move Seth Lugo back to the bull.
As it stands now, the Mets have Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman, Peterson, Matz, Lucchesi and Lugo as rotation options to start the season. The Mets are also hopeful that Noah Syndergaard will return to Tommy John’s rehabilitation in June.
Lucchesi still has small league options left, so even if he hadn’t cracked the Mets series in spring training, he would have given depth at Triple-A Syracuse. He will not be arbitrated until the next season.
Lucchesi was devoted to the Padres due to their wild off-season, which includes 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 $ 18.9 million qualifying offer for this season, and continued with the addition of Carrasco, who entered into the deal that brought Francisco Lindor of Cleveland.
Matz is the game card in the rotation mix. The left-hander scrapped last season after a 9.68 era and was relegated to the bullpen, but the Mets gave him a contract for the off-season and the parties agreed on a one-year deal for $ 5.25 million.
Although Lugo expressed his preference to play as an appetizer – he was thrown into the role last season due to need – he got his best job from the bullpen, which in 2018 and ’19 was one of the best relief in the NL.
The Mets plan to explore a showcase in Miami on Tuesday with veteran starters Julio Teheran and Anibal Sanchez.
The Mets’ big off-season also included signing James McCann for a four-year deal worth $ 40.6 million and Trevor May for a two-year contract worth $ 15.5 million.
But the Mets may not be done, as they continue to look for George Springer, the market’s leading free agent, and Brad Hand, a good left-handed reliever. The Blue Jays are the only other known suitor for Springer, who wants to install the Mets as their midfielder so Brandon Nimmo can play left. Hand, who has been linked to several teams, became a free agent after Cleveland turned down his option in 2021.