TUESDAY: Lannan will make $1.5MM if he reaches the bigs, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter), and could earn an additional $2MM in incentives tied to innings pitched and games started. He can opt out on June 14 if he is not put on the MLB roster within 24 hours, Sherman adds.
SATURDAY: The Mets have signed lefty starting pitcher John Lannan to a minor-league deal with a spring training invitation, according to a team release. Lannan, who is represented by CAA Sports. He'll provide depth for the Mets' rotation.
Lannan posted a 5.33 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 74 1/3 innings for the Phillies in 2013. He would have been eligible for arbitration, but the Phillies outrighted him in October. The longtime Nationals pitcher has a 4.12 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 858 lifetime innings.
Solid move
Thinking the 38YO Hideki Okajima would have been a better LHP sign. he generally gets guys out at least and does have an out pitch (splitter), rather than just a collection of mediocre, to below average.. There is a word for it..
And how would a pitcher with zero career starts figure into the Mets’ decision here to increase ROTATION depth?
Lannan was signed for his starter potential. Okajima is not a alternate for that purpose.
LHP, want a starter with an out pitch to get some body out? Matsuzaka. Lannan has the upside of Bazooka Joe, or Joe Blanton. He’s the equivalent of a AAAA body, no more and no less.
The only good thing is he’s in a massive pitcher friendly park.
It’s not a knock on the sign, as he’s nothing more than depth, but you can’t honestly count on this guy as a 4-5th SP and have hopes.
No one is ‘counting on’ Lannan. It’s purely a depth move. You were indeed knocking the sign and said that Okajima would have been a better one. Both pitchers are entirely different roles: Okajima has never started, Lannan has never relieved.
Probable best case scenario is Lannan filling a very small role if there are injuries, much like Matsuzaka and Harang did last year.
If you mean Diasuke Matsuzaka, then he’s a RHP and the Mets have already signed him to a MiL deal.
This was the inevitable for John Lannan at some point in his career. The Mets do need some bullpen arms. I’m a little surprised how quiet that has been for them.
Seriously. I really hope that they add something to the back end of that bullpen. I’m not sure what the situation with Parnell will be (ie- will he be healthy enough to close the entire season) and I feel like I don’t want to rush Vic Black into high pressure situations. Getting an 8th inning guy who can be insurance to Parnell should be their top priority now (I am ok with Tejada and Davis/Duda). Bailey, Hanrahan, Dotel, Myers, O’Flaherty, or Madson could be good buy low options coming off injury. K-Rod would be more of a sure thing. Even Rodney could be an option if the Mets are willing to stretch their budget a little bit and his market has fallen to earth since it is late in the offseason. I would want at least one of these guys so that they have some trade bait at the deadline, whether it be them being traded or them taking Parnell’s place if he is traded
It would be a tremendous mistake if they start guaranteeing roster spots to Scott Rice, Josh Edgin, Gonzalez Germen, and the like. Rice’s arm is going to literally fall off once spring training raps up, ending his season, and the others are highly unreliable. I liked the Reid pickup, but like Black he is not proven. I guess you can argue that since they don’t project to be a contender, they might as well see what they have.
What do you think of Eric O’Flaherty?
I don’t know if the Mets are in a position to be tinkering with injury projects. I would like him, but I would see a contender signing O’Flaherty. Would I love to see him with the Mets? Of course, but I don’t see it happening. I’m annoyed about them overlooking Joe Smith. I think the Angels got him for a bargain considering the market.
Why don’t you see them in the position? If anything, I feel like they are in the best position. If an injury project fails it’s not like they lose anything. They won’t be contending.
Totally underrated but won’t be ready until May at best. He is a great setup man
I don’t like the “see what you have” approach in the bullpen. I like it at SS and 1B, but historically, what you have in the BP one year isn’t necessarily going to translate to the next year. Bullpen’s are rarely strong all the way down to the 6th or 7th man so I have no issue “blocking” younger guys, knowing fully well that someone is bound to fail or get hurt and they will get their opportunity sometime in 2014
I agree in the sense that the Mets do need a vet or two for the pen to stabilize it like Hawkins did for them last year and their are still plenty of guys out their for them to look at bringing in still.
Completely disagree. Bullpens are complete crapshoots and the Mets have enough young arms to fill out the bullpen in 2014. I’d be okay with bringing in a Boggs type on a minor league deal but other than that….pass.
2 of the Mets past 3 closers have been minor league deals (Isringhausen after K-Rod was traded and Hawkins when Parnell went down). I don’t see the bullpen as somewhere where you worry about development or youth unless you have a future closer/back end guy (so maybe Vic Black is my exception but that still is 1 of 6 spots).
The moves I suggested were in hopes that they regain form and can be flipped for a A or Rookie ball prospect. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the arms they have in the bullpen, but I think having one or two guys who might draw interest at the trade deadline could be valuable. A guy like Madson, who hasn’t pitched in 2 years, could probably be had on a minor league deal and ST invite. Why not give that a shot?
Love this sign
A wild Lanimal appears!
Mets use performance-based incentives. It’s super effective!
I look forward to being told that he grew up on Long Island no less than 150 times when he makes his first start.
Chaminade HS
this is most likely to rest Wheeler late in the season when the Mets are out of it
Im not sure how anyone could say this isn’t a good move. Minor league deal means he isn’t guaranteed a spot. But if he pitches well in the spring, put him in the bullpen as a spot starter/long reliever.
Mejia should be our 5th starter as long as he’s healthy. Montero, Lannan, and DeGrom could all be fall back options for the 5th starter position. Not to mention giving Lannan the long relief job in the pen moves Carlos Torres back into regular middle relief where he belongs. Torres is a good reliever, but is not a good starter, and hasn’t pitched well when he had to start games. Good signing.
Torres was alright as a starter got threw at least 6innings a few times, obviously he’s a far better reliever though who can do long and middle relief which you can never have enough of. I like this signing a lot and hope the Mets continue to bring more guys in for depth as they’ll need as much as they can get weather its pitching or on the field in positions (especially in the IF).
This move falls on poor management by the Mets front office. It is a ripple effect across the organization, because they demanded an all-star level return for Ike Davis. They could have easily have gotten Jeff Locke for Ike Davis, but they got too greedy and now are left to sign John Lannan. Granted they have Mejia to compete with him for the 5th starter’s job, but Mejia has control issues and realistically the Mets still do not know who their 5th starter is. Jeff Locke is a young controllable arm that would be a fixture in the Mets rotation for years to come.
No AJ, no trade of Locke.
There was never any chance of the Mets getting Locke for Davis.
Obviously not. Why would Sandy Alderson accept that trade? Locke is a (mediocre) back-end starter and Ike Davis has already hit 30 homers in a season. Ike has significantly more value to the Mets. In Lannan, the Mets got a pitcher just as good as Locke without having to give anybody up in addition to maintaining roster flexibility.
FTFY: There was absolutely no chance of the Pirates getting Davis for Locke.
Love all the misinformation on this site. Mejía doesn’t have control issues; he has injury issues. He walked 1.32 per 9 last year in the Majors. That’s better than Kershaw and Harvey. Cliff Lee walked 1.29. I’m obviously not saying Mejía’s Cliff Lee, but come on. You have got to be kidding me. Mejía didn’t qualify since he didn’t pitch 162 innings (the big “IF”) but he would have been the 4th best starting pitcher in baseball in terms of limiting walks were he able to pitch a full season.
Locke has far less value to the Mets than Ike Davis. Why would they want a mediocre back-end starter for a guy who has already hit 30 homers in a season and was absolutely killing the ball in the second half last year after working out his problems? The Mets have at least 9 guys (10 if you include Lannan) that are as good as or better than Locke. Would have been a terribly one-sided trade in favor of the Pirates.
With Colón, Niese, Wheeler, Gee, Mejía, Montero, Syndergaard, DeGrom, Lannan, Torres, and then Harvey and Hefner coming back in 2015, where exactly do you expect Locke to fit in as a “fixture in the Mets rotation for years to come”??? The Mets have too much depth and too smart a front office to make that bad a trade.
I wish the Mets would sign Scott Baker for their rotation. Some team is about to get a very good pitcher at a very nice discount, and that team should be the Mets!
I think Baker gets a ML deal. This move is about roster flexibility just as much as it is about adding depth.
Not too concerned. I like Scott Baker but the team has lots of pitching depth. Right now, they’ve got Colón, Niese, Gee, Wheeler, Mejía, Lannan, Montero, Syndergaard, DeGrom, and Torres as guys who could start in 2014 and compete. In 2015, they have Harvey and Hefner coming off the DL, without even considering any of the MiLB arms lower down in the organization.
One can never have too much quality pitching depth, and having it allows more flexibility in trade negotiations. Syndergaard and Montero should both be in the minors for at least the first half of the season…and Baker was a very nice mid-rotation guy, pre-injury. Even a relatively cheap three-year major league deal could prove very rewarding for the Mets.
I wouldn’t mind bringing him in on a Minor League deal but a three year Major League contract is a bit unnecessary considering the guy’s recent history. We could trade him, I suppose, but there’s plenty of risk involved in that case.
Totally agree on a minor league deal I think the Mets would take him easily but a ML deal isn’t happening hence why Lannan got signed to a minors deal which is a good depth move.