Mets left-hander Joey Lucchesi went unclaimed on waivers and was assigned outright to the team’s Triple-A roster in Syracuse, per their transaction log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment last week when the Mets acquired righty Phil Maton from the Rays.
Lucchesi has more than three years of big league service time and thus has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but he’s still a couple months shy of the five years of service he’d need to retain the remainder of his $1.65MM salary upon rejecting an outright. As such, he’ll likely accept and head back to Syracuse, where he’s already spent the bulk of the 2024 season.
Lucchesi, 31, came to the Mets as part of the 2021 three-team trade better known for sending Joe Musgrove to San Diego and David Bednar to Pittsburgh. New York shipped catching prospect Endy Rodriguez to the Pirates as part of that deal and netted Lucchesi from the Friars. He missed the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery but has been a frequently used depth arm for the Mets in three other seasons with the organization.
In 89 1/3 frames as a Met, Lucchesi has pitched to a 3.93 ERA with a 20.1% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate, 42.8% grounder rate and 0.91 HR/9. He’s pitched just 4 1/3 MLB frames this season and has otherwise spent the year in Triple-A, where he’s logged 83 2/3 innings with a 4.20 earned run average. He’s fanned 17.9% of his opponents there and registered a 9.7% walk rate.
Even with top starter Kodai Senga on the injured list for the entire season to date, the Mets haven’t found too many opportunities for Lucchesi. Veterans Jose Quintana, Luis Severino and Sean Manaea have combined to start 55 of the team’s games. Offseason trade pickup Adrian Houser started seven games but has moved to a multi-inning role in the bullpen. David Peterson and Tylor Megill, both longtime depth options alongside Lucchesi, have started eight games apiece — as has top prospect Christian Scott. Twenty-six-year-old righty Jose Butto has started seven.
It’s a solid group of rotation options, particularly with Senga trending toward a return. Lucchesi will now stick around and provide further depth in the event that injuries hit the staff harder in the second half than in the first. If he’s not added back to the 40-man roster between now and season’s end, he’ll have the opportunity to become a minor league free agent (as is the case for all players with three-plus years of MLB service who are outrighted off a 40-man roster and not re-selected).
I dont blame him, probably his last shot at a million dollars. From now on it’ll be minor league low level deals unless he figures something out.
More Anti-Italian Discrimination in the MLB. Imagine my shock. It’s not like we’re the ones that made baseball relevant in the first place (DiMaggio, Campanella, Piazza, Fletcher, etc.)
Piazza made baseball relevant?
Yes and I’m tired of pretending he didn’t. Remember his home run that unified the country after 9/11?
United the country? It didn’t make the radical left any less radical.
We are radical, but in a cool way. Like how you say “radical!” when your friend Trent does a cool kick flip. We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn and we will run this country better than you ever could
Doubtful
CarryABigStick
Were you even born yet in 2001,? You’re take on related history is inaccurate.
Everything you say I read in an aggressive George Costanza voice
Run it into the ground .
In what way was this trade ever beneficial to the Mets?
Please explain as if I’m a fourth grader, thank you.
“Lucchesi, 31, came to the Mets as part of the 2021 three-team trade better known for sending Joe Musgrove to San Diego and David Bednar to Pittsburgh. New York shipped catching prospect Endy Rodriguez to the Pirates as part of that deal and netted Lucchesi from the Friars. He missed the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery…”
Two questions:
1. Which part of 4.1 innings of 10.38 ERA baseball and going unclaimed by every single team while making a shade over league minimum makes you think this is discrimination?
2. What made you so special?
Easy mute; thanks for that!
I see your mute button doesn’t actually work. I guess your brain has something in common with it
“Discrimination in the MLB”…It’s “MLB”, not “the MLB”, so I’m guessing you don’t watch many Italian or non Italian baseball players. Hopefully, your asinine “commentary” is somebody’s idea of a bad joke.
Holy crap nerds, I think it was a joke….
YOTF:
What the hell are you talking about?
Lay off the Limoncello, guy.
It’s NOT like the guys you name aren’t good (except Fletcher) but c’mon
I still think Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Cy Young Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays did more to put baseball on the national map than Piazza and Campanella. And although mike Piazza would be flattered you thought of him so highly, he is himself aware of baseball history and would defer to the names I mentioned and add others.
Grab your popcorn and go back to watch “Cabrini” again. There’s your Italian American champion
Fletcher clears all of them and unfortunately it appears you don’t know ball… SAD!
When did “Fletcher” become an Italian name?
When you became a loser. Soooooooo it always has been, troll
Ever watched the WBC? Did you watch Team Italy? Yeah I’d shut up if I was as stupid as you
The guy claiming Mike Piazza made Baseball relevant calling anyone else a loser and telling them to shut up is so overtly ironic it borders on satire. Sorry i must have missed the part where one of Fletcher’s relatives was just Italian enough for him to qualify…
Does the R in your name stand for r*tard?
Always funny to see the superiority complex of morons who can’t recognize obvious trolling
That you’re an obvious troll is easy to ascertain, its the fact that you have to result to personal attacks because you have nothing better to do with your time but troll a Baseball rumors site says more about you than it does about me
In today’s game, he shouldn’t be the (only) one to figure something out. The organization has pitching coaches, a pitching lab, and analytics people studying all kinds of computer-generated data and videos about his mechanics. I need to ask why they haven’t “figured something out”. And as a fan of the team, I’d love to hear some reason or explanation as to why he came into camp throwing 5 MPH slower than last year, and why, five months later, he’s only gained about 2 to 3 MPH of that back. It seems to me that the NY media would have ben all over this stuff five or eight years ago, and at least one of them would have found a source or taken a microscope to this months ago.
@geoff
Gotta say that you’ve made a great point there. You do wonder what the AAA & MLB bullpen coaches have been drinking all season…
Do you really think that all the coaching and analytics can turn every pitcher into an effective major leaguer? Maybe it can maximize a pitcher’s effectiveness given what he is capable of doing? But maybe that’s just not good enough?
All the king’s soldiers and all the king’s men …
@whyhayzee We’re not talking about taking some career minor leaguer and turning him into something he’s not.
I’m talking about a guy who had some level of competence at the major league level and has dropped off from that level suddenly and without explanation. There a difference.
Geofft,
He maxed out at 93.98 last season, his first since his TJ surgery.
In his lone game this season, he maxed out at 91.91. So that’s a 2 mph difference.
It might be unrealistic to think he’s going to max out to his career high of 95.22 in 2021. His delivery isn’t conventional and he’s 31 now..
He dipped in 2020 to 92,27, but then rebounded in 2021 to his career high. So maybe he will add velocity at some point, but maybe it won’t be enough. We’ll see.
If he’d gotten his velocity back, he’d have been in the pen by now instead of guys like Orze. He appears to be toast.
… or maybe Italian bread.
You’re right, its a 2 MPH difference. And at that velocity, 2 MPH makes a difference. But you’re also limiting your focus to his max, which he only reaches a few times per game (sometimes as little as 2 or 3). And only referencing the one game he pitched in the majors.
I’m more concerned with where he sits most of the time than with a few outlier pitches that every pitcher has in almost every game. If you see his minor league number during the games, he’s generally between 89 and 91. Most of those are in the 90 range, but he throws a lot more 89’s than 91’s. Last year he was consistently 92 – 93.
Bill M,
He seems to be toast under the new Mets front office. It’s been 1 and done this season in the majors. He got his chances with the Mets a bunch of times before then and did all right when Mets needed him. He may find a role on different team next season. If you recall last season he performed poorly in AAA but well in the majors. His deception has been a carrying tool.. So too his churve. Maybe it’s less effective because his velo is down. which makes it harder to set up hitters.
Whether he could be used in the pen if his velo was better is open question. Perhaps Mets intended to keep him stretched out as starter for depth purposes. Putting him in pen whether effective or not thins stating pitching depth.
geofft,
I get your what you’re saying. But I always consider max velo a standard the pitcher sets…..demonstrates capacity to his team and the opposition. Make the pitcher more dangerous.
I don’t however confuse that with the lower velo a pitcher generally sits other times. If, for instance, a pitcher reaches triple digits but generally sits in the mid-90’s, he always has that triple digit lurking as weapon. It’s psychological warfare that puts pressure on the opposition, and boosts his team’s psyche. Wouldn’t you rather have an Edwin Diaz who touches 101, but sits mid to high 90’s, than Edwin Diaz who tops out at 97 and sits in mid-90’s as he has at some points this season? Having a 95 mile per hour fastball he can use from time to time, made Joey Luchessi more dangerous even if he only used it sporadically. Sitting 89-91 as he is now as you say, and tops out a little bit higher, allows batters to better own the plate. Not many pitchers succeed these days at those levels. .Makes it easier to understand why he’s spent nearly whole season in minors if that’s the reason.
Franks not gonna like this!!!!
Herman Franks is totally indifferent about it.
So are Ballpark Franks.
And former Missouri BB star Theo Franks.
we don’t relish Herman Franks
Ballpark Franks or Fenway Franks?
Heard that your namesake used to devour 3 Fenway franks in the clubhouse after to being pulled from the game so that when the game was over and all the other players came in he’d say,” No, No I’m not hungry. Thanks. I’m trying to stay in game shape. “
I miss Frank’s sodas — especially the Black Cherry.
Now That’s something WE can all agree on!!!
I still think this guy could be a solid back of the rotation guy. Any time he’s gotten an extended chance in the majors he’s been about as good or better than most team’s number 5. But I don’t think his skill set (pitching to contact) is really valued in the league anymore. Couple that with injuries and diminishing K numbers and it’s not hard to see why no team claimed him.
Joey Fuego will get his mlb chance again and be able to control his future as a 6 year minor league free agent this off season. Someone will give him a shot.
He and His agent needs to assess his best chance to make a team’s rotation, then negotiate.
He will sign a minor league contract and have to win a job in camp or hope a team in Asia has some extra money to burn for foreign player
Was hoping they’d keep him
He’s still in the Mets system. They could add him back to the 4-man or Mets’ active roster anytime they want.
Joey, a godson of Guido Luchesse and family,who generously made Mets an offer they couldnt refuse to keep him on payroll.
“leave the gun,take the cannoli.”
Cleon Jones –
Was my first favorite Met. I even remember his middle name…Joseph…Cleon Joseph Jones and that he was a rare left handed thrower who batted right handed.
Caught the final out of 69 series. Amazin Mets…..
Indeed he did! Miracle Mets.
1.65 mil for a flyer on Lucchesi?
I am surprised Preller did not bite.
Joey can’t be worse than Adam Mazur, and he don’t cost no prospects.
Oh well.
Not even that much. $1.65 million is his salary for the year. He’d only cost what’s left of that if a team had claimed him.