MARCH 30: The Mets have re-signed Hunter to another minor-league deal, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).
MARCH 25: The Mets announced Thursday that veteran reliever Tommy Hunter has been released. Newsday’s Tim Healey tweets that the right-hander had an opt-out clause in his contract today. Hunter will head back to the open market in search of a spot with a club that has a clearer path to the big leagues.
Hunter, 34, has been a rock-solid reliever for the past eight seasons but has battled injuries in recent years with the Phillies. A hamstring strain limited his time with the Phils in 2018, and a forearm strain wiped out nearly his entire 2019 season. He returned to the Phils on a low-cost, one-year deal last winter and performed fairly well, logging a 4.01 ERA and 3.57 SIERA with strong strikeout and walk percentages (24.5 and 5.9, respectively).
Dating back to the 2013 season, Hunter carries a 3.24 ERA/3.40 SIERA in 394 innings of bullpen work. He’s had excellent control throughout his career, but Hunter’s once-pedestrian strikeout rates have ticked upward in recent seasons. After punching out just 19 percent of his opponents from 2013-16, he’s fanned batters at a 23.5 percent clip from 2017-20.
Hunter’s sinker, which averaged 96.3 mph as recently as 2017 with the Rays, clocked in at a much more timid average of 92.7 mph with the Phillies this past season, so there’s perhaps some moderate cause for concern. But he still proved effective with that reduced velocity, perhaps in part due to a big jump in his curveball usage. His swinging-strike rate (10 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (34.8 percent) were both within striking distance of the levels he’d set in previous seasons as well, so it doesn’t seem as though the lost life on his sinker was a substantial detriment.
Hunter has pitched in five games this spring, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks with three punchouts through five innings of work. It’s not the most impressive body of work, but it is of course a rather small sample. The more important note for clubs seeking some veteran bullpen depth will be that Hunter has been getting in regular work this spring and should be largely built up for Opening Day readiness.
He shouldn’t have to much trouble finding a job. He’s effective when healthy.
Apparently he did, since he re-signed a minor league contract with the Mets.
that doesn’t look like Hunter to me
We choose Betances over him???? Cmon. I’m a fan and Ik he is better. Just cut Betances already. I’m not even saying I like hunter. Just cut bentances.
Must really hate Betances lol. Do you have nightmares of him?
The Mets weren’t going to eat the $6MM on Betances, as much as I don’t see him bouncing back at this point. Anyway, I don’t see the harm in keeping him. Even with Lugo out, he’s unlikely to see many high leverage situations (barring additional injuries, of course).
Kirk,
Not eating the $ 6 MM on Betances is very much a Wilpon move by the new Owner. The New Boss is the Same as the Old Boss. LOL
I’m sure there are plenty of teams who would not eat a $6m contract without at least giving him another chance, not just the former Mets owner.
Betances has the potential to be great. This guy at his best is decent.
He really doesn’t, but it seems they’re willing to gamble on him a little longer. Definitely a bit of sunk cost fallacy at play, but even more so, they’re still chasing that dragon of Betances’s former greatness. “If he can just get his velocity back” is probably a phrase that’s often uttered around the Mets FO these days.
Big Chances has the potential to be great if you build a time machine and go back in time; right now he is toast and a waste of a roster spot.
His velocity has actually gone down since the start of spring training not up!
I would only keep him on 60 day IL but that won’t happen.
He is a competitor and should be honest with the Mets and himself and say he is done; a guy that big not even hitting 90 MPH considering his past then there is something definitely wrong in that shoulder.
Villain already admitting he has to move to his off speed stuff tells me he knows and the rest of MLB will know to sit on the off speed stuff
@tidybowl.
His best days seem well behind him. His fastball is topping out at 92. His best pitches are his breaking balls, but his #1 is VERY unimpressive. Like Familia, I think he only gets used in mop up situations. Maybe those two can post decent enough numbers to be moved during the season for a low level prospect or cash. If not, they are strictly innings eaters.
Decent reliever but there’s no room for him in the Mets pen. Someone will grab him
Nope.. Back with the Mets on a minor league deal.
Angels BP depth.
Not surprising. I think the last two bullpen spots will end up going to Barnes and Montgomery.
Seems that way. They were never gonna keep all 3 of those guys, and Hunter was the odd man out. I still doubt they’ll roster 2 of them on the 26 all season, but might be able to squeak at least one of them through waivers at some point during the season.
He declined the AAA dump known as Syracuse.
AAA doesn’t start until May so it is the alternate site in Coney Island he is avoiding.
Or, much more accurately, he will sign on with a team who can actually use him at the major league level, like it says in this article.
Apparently he didn’t find anyone willing to offer him a major league contract.
How is he only 34? It seems like he’s been around forever.
Would not mind another reunion with Orioles
Same ol’ Mets keeping a number of scrubs and releasing someone with proven talent.
Do any of you read the articles? *Hunter opted out*. Mets would have kept him, but Hunter feels like he’d have a better chance elsewhere (and he’s probably right), so he exercised his opt-out clause. Like half of the comments here are ripping the Mets for releasing him when *Hunter* made the decision.
The point is, the Mets could and should have offered him a guaranteed spot in their bullpen and didn’t..
I hope this is an old comment? Hunter was released to create roster space and resigned with the Mets. He is solid insurance at the alternative site for the first month and likely the first call whenever another bullpen arm is needed. There is no guarantee that Familia or Betances are on the active roster come May 1st. Or, for that matter, Gsellman or Lugo. Hunter offers great flexibility for the Mets to make a couple of deals later on if necessary or for a young player here or there.
Tommy hunter is better than gsellman and drew smith, the mets amaze me sometimes
The choice wasn’t between Hunter and those guys. Both have options, and Smith is injured. The choice was always how many of their NRIs were they going to add to the OD roster, which came down to Hunter, Montgomery, and Barnes. They clearly prefer the latter two, and so that’s that.
Would have kept Hunter and Yamamoto over Familia and Gsellman.
Didn’t have a choice, Hunter exercised his opt-out clause, like it says up above in this article you’re commenting on. This was Hunter’s decision.
Seems to me the Mets could’ve “influenced” Hunter’s decision if they removed Familia and/or Gsellman from the picture.
Gsellman has nothing to do with this. He has minor league options. Familia and Betances were options to cut loose, but they clearly didn’t think more highly of Hunter than either of them (or Barnes or Montgomery for that matter), or at least didn’t feel that Hunter was worth a guaranteed 26-man spot.
Yamomoto has options, and he’s gonna be starting games in AAA. They didn’t lose him.
3 valid points. Yet there will still be tons of posts – from Mets fans – about how dumb this (non) move was. There are many people who just don’t understand how a roster is built
Dump
Cut Betances and grab Cishek. He is still murder on right handed hitters. Betances is lost money. Cut your losses
He’ll be in the pen by May at the latest…good re-signing.
Are him and Trevor friends? Ba dum cha!
I knew there was going to be big contract news today.
In all seriousness, Hunter is a useful piece and will almost certainly be needed.
Will Montgomery sign another minor league deal with the Mets next?
If you’re going to sign a contract to go to Syracuse, you should hold out until May, at least. ❄❄❄