Seth Lugo

East Notes: Means, Mets, Yankees, Strasburg

By Connor Byrne | May 15, 2021 at 1:42pm CDT

The Mets made an attempt to acquire left-hander John Means from the Orioles during the offseason, but Baltimore rebuffed New York, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The Mets surely weren’t alone in trying to acquire Means, who’s making a minimal salary this year and still has three years of arbitration control remaining. Means proved himself as a capable mid- to back-of-the-rotation starter from 2019-20, but he has taken his game to an entirely different level this season. The 28-year-old has pitched to a microscopic 1.21 ERA with impressive strikeout and walk percentages of 28.0 and 5.3, respectively, over 52 innings. This has been a May to remember for Means, who no-hit the Mariners on the 5th and then tossed six scoreless innings against the team that wanted him, the Mets, this past Tuesday.

Here’s more on the Mets and a couple other East Coast clubs:

The Yankees announced Friday that designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with tightness in his left quad. The issue sidelined Stanton on Friday, and he’s now “day to day, hopefully nothing more than that,” manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com and other reporters. Stanton endured a pair of injury-ruined seasons from 2019-20, in which he played in 41 of a possible 222 games, but has mostly stayed healthy this year. The 31-year-old slugger has been in excellent form with a .282/.347/.534 line and nine home runs in 144 plate appearances.
Sticking with the Yankees, right-hander Luis Severino is at the “start of spring training mode” as he works his way back from February 2020 Tommy John surgery, Boone said Friday (via Marly Rivera of ESPN). Severino threw 23 pitches of live batting practice Friday and averaged between 96 and 97 mph. The 27-year-old was one of the game’s elite starters from 2017-18, leading the Yankees to sign him to a four-year, $40MM extension, though he totaled only 12 innings in 2019 as a result of shoulder problems and hasn’t pitched since. To its credit, New York’s rotation has done well this year without Severino; nevertheless, the team will surely be glad to welcome him back if he’s healthy.
Nationals righty Stephen Strasburg will make a Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com tweets. Manager Dave Martinez said the hope is that Strasburg will go five innings and throw 75 to 80 pitches. Washington has barely gotten anything in 2021 from Strasburg, who’s in the second season of a seven-year, $245MM contract, as a result of shoulder inflammation. This is the second straight injury-limited year for the former World Series MVP, who has totaled just 15 innings since 2020.
Mets third baseman J.D. Davis and reliever Seth Lugo will soon begin rehab assignments at the Triple-A level, Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes. While the Mets hoped Davis would exit the 10-day injured list Saturday, he’s still not ready to come back since suffering a left hand sprain on May 1. The club has gone all season without Lugo, who underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow in February. Lugo started in seven of 16 appearances last season, but he’ll return to a relief role when he rejoins the Mets, per manager Luis Rojas.

Quick Hits: deGrom, Mets, Robert, Mondesi, Cron

By Mark Polishuk | May 8, 2021 at 10:38pm CDT

Jacob deGrom is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Diamondbacks, as the Mets ace reported no ill effects after a bullpen session. DeGrom was scratched from his last start on Tuesday due to inflammation in his right lat, but “as we did the due diligence and work on it, it wasn’t something that anyone thought was a major issue,” Mets GM Zack Scott told The New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar and other reporters.

In other Mets injury news, Scott said that Seth Lugo and Noah Syndergaard will begin rehab outings “in a week or so,” with Lugo (bone spur removal surgery) expected to make his 2021 debut by the end of May, and Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery) still ticketed for sometime in June. The news isn’t as good for infielder Luis Guillorme, as Thosar tweeted yesterday that Guillorme is still feeling discomfort in his injured right oblique when he takes swings. Guillorme is eligible to be activated from the injured list on Sunday, but he might not return for another week.

NL Notes: Tatis, Mets, Lugo, Thor, McCutchen

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2021 at 3:00pm CDT

As if Joe Musgrove’s no-hitter wasn’t enough good news for the Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. was taking grounders prior to yesterday’s game and is now also taking part in hitting and running drills. Tatis is on the 10-day IL recovering from a slight tear in his left labrum, though the ugly-looking injury may only keep Tatis out of action for a relatively short amount of time. Tatis’ shoulder inflammation has decreased to the point that he has been able to do some fielding work, and he could keep gradually ramping up his baseball activity as long as his shoulder remains sound, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote yesterday.

Manager Jayce Tingler sounded cautiously optimistic talking to Acee and other reporters today. “We want to take it day by day, but we feel confident if we can continue down this road, we’re going to be in a good position for him to be activated” by April 16, Tingler said. That would be the first day Tatis would be eligible to leave the injured list, and it would put Tatis on pace to be in the lineup as the Padres began a big series with the Dodgers.

Injury Notes: K. Calhoun, Lugo, Wick, Pearson

By Connor Byrne | March 4, 2021 at 6:20pm CDT

The latest injury updates from around the majors…

Diamondbacks outfielder Kole Calhoun underwent surgery on a torn right meniscus Wednesday, but he expects to recover on the shorter end of the four- to six-week timetable, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com relays. Either way, it doesn’t appear the Diamondbacks will go too long in the regular season without Calhoun, who was one of their most productive players in 2020. The former Angel batted .226/.338/.526 in 228 plate appearances and led the team in home runs (16) and fWAR (1.8.).
Mets reliever Seth Lugo said Thursday that he is “on track” in his recovery from mid-February surgery on bone spurs in his right elbow, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Lugo, however, did not offer a timetable for his return from the procedure; it was reported then that Lugo would need at least six weeks to begin throwing again, making it likely he’ll miss the beginning of the season. Lugo has been tremendous out of the Mets’ bullpen since 2018, though his numbers dipped when the club experimented with him in a starting role last year.
Cubs righty Rowan Wick, who’s recovering from an intercostal strain, is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Wick has been working back from the injury since last season, when he didn’t pitch past Sept. 16. That cut off a second consecutive solid year for Wick, who has managed a 2.66 ERA/4.02 SIERA with an above-average 25.7 percent strikeout rate in 50 2/3 innings out of the Cubs’ bullpen dating back to 2019.
Blue Jays hurler Nate Pearson has a Grade 1 right groin strain, but the team is hoping he’ll return “pretty quickly,” according to general manager Ross Atkins (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). The touted right-hander, 24, figures to make a good amount of starts for the Blue Jays this year if he’s healthy. Pearson debuted in 2020, but elbow issues limited him to 18 innings and five appearances (four starts), in which he pitched to a 6.00 ERA/5.95 SIERA.
Padres righty Javy Guerra will miss “at least” two to four weeks because of a Grade 1 UCL sprain, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. Guerra (not to be confused with the Nationals’ reliever of the same name) is a former infielder who moved to the mound and threw 22 innings out of the Padres’ bullpen from 2019-20, but he has struggled to an 8.18 ERA thus far in his major league career. The 25-year-old is out of minor league options, so it’s up in the air whether he’ll still be part of the San Diego organization when the season starts.

Seth Lugo To Undergo Bone Spur Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | February 13, 2021 at 8:49am CDT

Mets right-hander Seth Lugo will undergo elbow surgery to fix a broken bone spur on Tuesday, the team announced. The issue was discovered after Lugo had been suffering from elbow inflammation during his offseason workouts. Lugo won’t begin throwing for at least six weeks following his procedure, so he will surely begin the season on the injured list as he continues to build up arm strength.

Lugo posted a 5.15 ERA over 36 2/3 innings for New York in 2020, beginning the season in the bullpen but then starting his final seven outings. Advanced metrics indicate that he pitched better than that 5.15 ERA would indicate, as Lugo’s numbers were skewed by two very poor starts against the Phillies and Nationals (Lugo was touched for 12 runs over three total innings) and a big home run rate. The righty had a 3.29 SIERA and very strong strikeout (29.4%) and walk (6.3%) percentages, while also posting a 48.5 grounder rate and some elite curveball spin.

A 34th-round pick for the Mets back in 2011, Lugo rose through the organizational ranks and broke into the Show as a starter in 2016-17, and also made five starts during the 2018 season. For much of 2018-19, however, Lugo was a very effective reliever out of the Amazins’ bullpen, and he was slated to return to that role (perhaps with the odd spot start) in 2021. While it doesn’t seem like Lugo’s surgery is overtly major, it obviously isn’t a good sign for him to miss such a big chunk of Spring Training, and he’ll need at least a month to properly prepare and ramp back up.

With Lugo gone for at least some time at the start of the season, Robert Gsellman and the newly-acquired Jordan Yamamoto look like the Mets’ top options for rotation depth should one of their projected starting five also suffer an injury prior to Opening Day. The Mets are still reportedly looking into starting pitching options, and if a new arm is added, Joey Lucchesi will likely be the odd man out who is moved into the bullpen.

Mets, Edwin Diaz Avoid Arbitration

By Anthony Franco | January 15, 2021 at 2:15pm CDT

The Mets are avoiding arbitration with relievers Edwin Díaz, Seth Lugo and Miguel Castro. Díaz will make $7MM next season, reports MLB.com Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Lugo comes in at $2.925MM, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Castro, meanwhile, will make $1.6875MM, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. All three pitchers are controllable through the end of the 2022 season.

Díaz comes in above his projected salary range of $5.1MM — $6.5MM. After a rocky first season in Queens, he was brilliant last year. The 26-year-old pitched to a 1.75 ERA with a 45.5% strikeout rate that ranked third among qualified relievers.

Lugo and Castro, meanwhile, fall within their projected ranges. Lugo had some tough bottom line results last year but much more impressive underlying numbers. Castro was adequate for the Mets, who acquired him midseason from the Orioles. Earlier today, New York also came to terms with Robert Gsellman and Dominic Smith.

East Notes: Mets, Jays, Lindor, Red Sox, Devers

By Connor Byrne | January 8, 2021 at 10:31pm CDT

The Mets won the Francisco Lindor sweepstakes when they acquired the star shortstop from Cleveland in a blockbuster trade earlier this week. It turns out that the Blue Jays finished second in the derby, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com reports. While Castrovince isn’t sure which other players were involved in the teams’ trade talks, the Blue Jays offered “what is probably a higher ceiling,” he writes. The problem for Toronto is that the prospects it put on the table weren’t that close to being ready for the majors, so Cleveland accepted an offer that it expects to be beneficial in both the short and long term.

The Red Sox and third baseman Rafael Devers have not discussed a multiyear contract to this point, agent Nelson Montes de Oca told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. For now, the focus is on agreeing to a salary for 2021 by next Friday’s deadline to file figures. The Red Sox renewed Devers for a near-minimum $692,500 heading into last year, even though he was coming off a tremendous campaign. The 24-year-old is now eligible for arbitration, where he’s projected to collect anywhere from $3.4MM to $6.3MM. Unfortunately for Devers, he’s going into the process off a down season in which he slashed .263/.310/.483 with 11 home runs in 248 plate appearances. Barring an extension, Devers won’t be eligible for free agency until after 2023.
Back to the Mets, who seem primed to move right-hander Seth Lugo back to the bullpen in 2021, Jon Heyman of MLB Network relays. Lugo has been highly successful as a reliever in the past, but he had a tough time last year after the Mets moved him into their rotation. They’re now largely set there with Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson in line to comprise their top four when next season opens. They’ll also get righty Noah Syndergaard back from his Tommy John surgery sometime during the summer.
The Blue Jays have signed hitting coach Guillermo Martinez to a two-year contract extension, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet relays. Martinez has been on the job since 2018. The Blue Jays’ offense finished seventh in the majors in runs and 11th in wRC+ under his tutelage last season.

Mets Rotation Update

By TC Zencka | September 7, 2020 at 11:43am CDT

A month ago, the New York Mets made the bold move to transition two of their highest-volume relievers to the rotation. Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo each came to the majors with expectations of starting, but after years of working effectively out of the bullpen, the Mets gambled by moving the pair back to the rotation mid-season. The experiment is over for Gsellman, writes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

Gsellman’s longest outing was a 4-inning stint in which he allowed one run while striking out four and walking none. While the Mets eventually lost that game 2-1, it was the only game of the four Gsellman started that went that way. Still, short outings and an 8.68 ERA suggest Gsellman is better suited to returning to his usual role in the bullpen, where the Mets rank 11th as a team by ERA and 12th by FIP.

Besides, the Mets’ rotation is full again with ace Jacob deGrom followed by Rick Porcello, David Peterson, and Michael Wacha. The 25-year-old Peterson has been a pleasant surprise, going 4-1 with a 3.03 ERA/4.02 FIP. His emergence has been especially important considering the de-evolution and subsequent injured list stint for fellow southpaw Steven Matz. Matz slumped to a 0-4 mark with an unsightly 8.63 ERA/6.69 FIP before being placed on the injured list for shoulder bursitis.

The right-handed, non-deGrom, veteran division of the rotation – consisting of Porcello and Wacha – have produced subpar results by measure of ERA, but take a look at an ERA-indicator like FIP and you’ll find a much different story. Porcello boasts just a 1-4 record over 8 starts (39 innings) with a 5.54 ERA – but a 2.97 FIP. Wacha, similarly, has a horrid 7.20 ERA over 5 starts (20 innings) – but a much more respectable 4.40 FIP. Wacha in particular has shown an impressive 12.2 K/9, easily a career high, but he’s also surrendered 12.6 hits per nine innings, a mark that’s equally outside his career norms. A .429 BABIP against might be partially responsible for the discrepancy between FIP and ERA, giving the Mets cause to believe in their rotation over the season’s final three weeks.

Lugo will continue to hold down the fifth spot in the rotation. Long one of New York’s most reliable relievers, Lugo has continued to impress from the rotation. While no stranger to the rotation – Lugo made 31 starts from 2016 to 2018 – he worked exclusively out of the pen in 2019 for an identical 2.70 ERA/FIP across 61 appearances covering 80 innings. He’s been their most reliable bullpen arm in recent seasons, but having acquired Miguel Castro from the Orioles at the deadline and moving Gsellman back to the pen, the Mets are betting that they can afford to keep Lugo in the rotation for now. The 30-year-old has done an admirable job stretching himself to starter’s minutes, culminating in a 5-inning outing his last time out. In total, Lugo has a 1.54 ERA across 11 2/3 innings since moving to the rotation.

Mets Move Steven Matz To Bullpen; Seth Lugo Joining Rotation

By Steve Adams | August 20, 2020 at 8:12am CDT

The Mets have moved left-hander Steven Matz to the bullpen and will shift setup man Seth Lugo back into a starting role, manager Luis Rojas revealed after last night’s game (Twitter link via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). Lugo will take the ball to start tonight’s game.

The 29-year-old Matz was excellent in his first start of 2020 but has since been clobbered for 22 runs on 28 hits (eight homers) and five walks in just 17 innings. He hasn’t gotten out of the fifth in any of his past three starts and is toting a 9.00 ERA in 23 frames overall. Lugo, meanwhile, has once again been sharp out of the ’pen, with a 2.61 ERA and an 11-to-2 K/BB ratio in 10 1/3 frames. By subtracting him from the late-inning mix, the Mets are betting that others like Justin Wilson, Jeurys Familia, Brad Brach, Dellin Betances and most importantly Edwin Diaz will be able to find consistent success as games draw to a close. Lugo has a career 2.53 ERA and 2.88 FIP in 188 2/3 relief innings, compared to a 4.06 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 168 1/3 innings as a starter.

It’s the latest shakeup in a Mets season that has been punctuated by rotation troubles. The Mets believed they’d stockpiled a strong group of starters, one through six, but only Jacob deGrom has performed as hoped. Noah Syndergaard didn’t pitch after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May, and Marcus Stroman opted out of the 2020 season entirely. Matz has stumbled through one of the bleakest stretches of his career, while reclamation projects Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha haven’t paid dividends. Porcello, to his credit, has had some rough luck on balls in play and pitched much better since a disastrous Mets debut. Wacha is on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.

The Mets’ options beyond that sextet have long appeared to be lacking, although 2017 first-rounder David Peterson proved to be a bright spot … until he landed on the injured list due to shoulder troubles of his own. It’s notable that a recent MRI confirmed that there’s no structural damage in Peterson’s shoulder (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand), but he still won’t be an option until next week.

Aside from Peterson, fallback options like Corey Oswalt and Walker Lockett haven’t impressed. The club has instead shifted Robert Gsellman and now Lugo back into the starting mix. It wasn’t long ago that there was some spirited debate over whether that pair would be starters or relievers for the long haul. Both settled in as bullpen pieces, with Lugo in particular emerging as a high-end option. But the inadequacies among current Mets starters have now forced both right-handers back into the rotation picture.

Lugo will join deGrom, Porcello, Gsellman and (once healthy) Peterson in a rotation that can’t resemble anything the Mets’ front office might have anticipated heading into the season. But for all their pitching woes, the Mets remain in the playoff hunt thanks to a strong offense that ranks second in MLB with a 122 wRC+. They’ve rattled off three straight wins, and while they’re sitting at a pedestrian 12-14 on the year, the good news for them is that the rest of the NL East looks similarly underwhelming. The Braves lead the way at 14-11, but their own rotation has been decimated by injury, leaving ample space for the Mets to close the mere two-and-a-half game gap that separates them.

Given that the Wilpon family is reportedly deep in the process of fielding offers to sell the club, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Mets approach the looming Aug. 31 trade deadline with a clear buyer’s mentality. This could be the last opportunity for current ownership to secure the World Series title that alluded them when they fell to the Royals in 2015, and it only stands to reason that they’d take one final shot while they have the chance.

As for Matz himself, his future is decidedly murky. He could be a potential change-of-scenery candidate with the deadline looming, and even if he sticks with the Mets, he’ll have limited opportunities to turn things around as a low-leverage bullpen option. He’s on a $5MM salary for the 2020 season and will be arbitration-eligible for a third and final time this winter. It’s hardly a given that the Mets will want to allocate the necessary resources to retain him through the arbitration process.

Mets Notes: Rotation, Rosario, Gimenez, Peterson

By Steve Adams | August 14, 2020 at 9:16am CDT

Robert Gsellman’s first start as a member of the Mets’ rotation this week lasted just two innings, as the right-hander is still getting stretched out after opening the year in the bullpen. But manager Luis Rojas expressed confidence this week that the righty can “have some stamina for us” and “give us that depth to start a game” as he builds up (link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). The 27-year-old Gsellman said he “felt like a little kid again” as he prepped for his first start since 2017, and DiComo notes that a move back into the rotation has long been something for which Gsellman has hoped. Righty Seth Lugo, too, has expressed interest in getting back into a starter’s role, but the Mets are more reluctant to alter his role given the resounding success he’s enjoyed as a late-inning weapon in recent years. Lugo has a career 2.50 ERA out of the ’pen and has punched out 28.3 percent of the hitters he’s faced in a relief role. Those numbers dip to 4.06 and 19.2 percent, respectively, in a nearly equal sample of innings as a starter.

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