The Mets have signed right-hander Jerad Eickhoff to a minor league contract, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Eickhoff will earn a $1.25MM salary if he makes the majors, and he could pull in another $700K in incentives.
This deal means Eickhoff could get another crack at the National League East, where he has pitched his entire major league career so far. As a member of the Phillies from 2015-19, Eickhoff combined for 440 innings of respectable 4.15 ERA/4.39 FIP ball with 8.1 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9. During his best full season, 2016, Eickhoff put together a 3.65 ERA/4.19 FIP and 7.62 K/9 against 1.62 BB/9 over a career-high 197 1/3 frames.
Unfortunately, injuries – including carpal tunnel syndrome – have hampered what once looked like a promising big league tenure. Eickhoff threw just 5 1/3 innings in 2018 and followed that with 58 1/3 frames in his most recent season, in which he struggled to a 5.71 ERA/6.51 FIP. The 30-year-old spent some time last year with the Padres and Rangers (who drafted him in 2011), but he didn’t return to the majors with either club.
Solid move. Good gamble
Was Eickhoff hurt in 2020?
He never made the majors last year. Don’t think it was injury related.
I think the Padres called him up but he never pitched in a game. Then he got released half way through the season.
Good minor league depth
His numbers the last few years have been ghastly, but I guess you can never have too many starting pitching options. Unless there are some catastrophic injuries, I can’t see him making more than a few spot starts at best.
The Mets have usually been very thin in SP depth in recent seasons, so I think it’s a decent move from that standpoint.
Dang, J.E had high ceiling potential. I honestly would of kept him over Vinny Velasquez. Jared had some nasty stuff! Hate to face him on the other side of the field
The operative word being ‘had’.
Not sure who you were watching? His stuff was very “Vance Worley” like.
Great depth signing by New York. He’ll definitely be called up at some point during the season and can provide some decent innings for them while others are on the IL. The only question is once he’s called up, can he be optioned back to the minors or does he have enough service time where he’d have to be put on waivers to do so?
He is one of two players in major or minor league history to have the name Jerad instead of Jared or Jered. The other is former Cleveland Baseball Team/Spiders/Indians OF Jerad Head, who played in 2011.
JEickoff was solid for the Phillies for a few seasons, and I was hoping he’d be a dependable middle-to-back of the rotation starter for multiple years. He had a solid build and he didn’t depend on maximum effort on every pitch.
However, over the past couple of years he hasn’t been able to consistently hit 90mph with his fastball. He now looks like a mediocre batting practice pitcher, and it’s really hard to watch. He’s seems like a decent guy, so I hope he figures it out or bails before it gets uglier.
His physical issues sapped him of his effective sinker. And I don’t know that the docs ever helped him overcome his numbness issues. For a control based pitcher that was the kiss of death. I loved his attack mode mentality when he was at his best. He was a grinder.
Remember when Nola, Eickhoff, Eflin, and Velasquez were supposed to be the next “core 4” in the Phillies rotation? How times have changed.
Considering the current service life of MLB starters, 50% (Nola and Elfin) isn’t that bad…
I don’t think most people were that high on all of them
Solid pickup, but Mets fans are hoping they won’t need to rely on Eickoff in the rotation. I’d still rather him than Matz.
Good depth signing…. something they lacked last year
I wish Eickhoff nothing but the best. He was an underrated piece from the Hamels deal. It was unfortunate when injuries derailed his career.
Camp battle between him and Matz for the 5th spot
Phillies could use him…
Phillies could use any pitcher not named Pivetta.
Hey Pivetta looked like an “Ace” in his couple of debut games with the Sox last season! lol. Granted it was only 2 games and I am mostly just joking… BUT he did actually look like the pitcher he was projected to be in those 2 games — so maybe the Red Sox actually figured him out and fixed whatever his issues were in PHI — if so that would be a HUGE boost for the Sox next season.
Jeff– he used to do that to phillies fans too.
thats why Kreckert said…
Lots of luck with that.
Sincerely,
The Phillies
He was helpless on the Phillies. 2 good starts out of Pivetta is fantastic for the Sox. More than the Phillies got. And Workman was atrocious for the Phillies. So Sox won that trade.
Can’t forget Seabold either I was looking forward to him and we wasted Seabold a lot more than we wasted Pivetta.
Jeickhoff
Lots of luck with that.
Sincerely,
The Phillies
He was good til he got hurt
Mets signing meh
How much more minor league pitching depth do the New York Mets need? They have already made so many moves in that department. You need two bonafide solid pitchers for that rotation NEXT season. Go sign Trevor Bauer & make a hard push for Blake Snell. A super rotation of DeGrom, Bauer, Snell, Stroman & Syndergaard will be the best in baseball.
The Mets really aren’t swimming in minor league SP depth. Oswalt is brutal and Kilome looked really raw in the few games he pitched last season. Eickhoff is the first SP depth they’ve brought in with MLB experience of any significance.
Depth signings don’t preclude major signings anyway. The Mets have made it pretty clear that they want to be active on both fronts, and I think they’ve done it so far.
could be worse.
his name could have been jerad jackhoff
Another low cost depth option, keep em coming.
Minor League depth option with possible performance call up if needed or required
another 2nd or 3rd tier signing.
thats what the mets have look forward too the whole off season.
sorry Jacob deGrom.
Triple A depth. The Mets literally had no one to make a spot start last year. This comes on a day that former Met Rafael Montero was traded from Rangers to Mariners. I didn’t even realize Montero was still around.
Moral of the story. If you have a son, get him a glove and start a throwing program. Ya never know!
Lol
He’s 21-30. Perfect pitcher for the mets!
Given his injury history and how effective he was prior to the injuries… I wonder if he’s a guy who could transition to a relief role and maybe handle it better physically than starting… just a thought — though maybe his stuff isn’t really suited for relief… I read above that he’s having a hard time consistently hitting 90MPH with his fastball — so if that’s the case, unless he could get it to play up in shorter outings, that’s probably a pitch mix better suited to starting than pitching late in games… as he’s never really been a big strikeout pitcher — so maybe starting is really where he can be most effective injuries or not.
Dead arm. Velocity a shadow of a few years ago.
The Mets like to Eickhoff.
Wow the Mutts are really dominating the offseason! Just like their fans said they would!
Straw man much?
He’s making fun of the Mets. let’s be real here he has nothing else in life.
Good move by the Mets. You can never have enough pitching. Eickhoff was pretty darn good in Philly before a nerve issue in his hand derailed him. When he was healthy, he had the highest spin rate on his curve ball (His best pitch) next to Clayton Kershaw.
With all the injuries to pitching the Mets seem to get each year, having Eickhoff as a potential #5 innings eater is a solid choice, especially if the nerve issues are behind him and he can pitch like he did during his initial season in Philly. Plus, by all accounts, he’s a really good guy who will rival Dom Smith for being a clubhouse chemistry contributor.