Oct
20
2012

2012 Mets Player Review: Chris Young, RHP

An article by John Delcos

CHRIS YOUNG, RHP

PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS: With veteran Chris Young there was first a hope before any expectations. Signed as a stop gap starter to begin with prior to the 2011 season, Young pitched effectively at first before injuring his shoulder. In four starts he was 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA, giving the Mets six innings a start. Although an injury risk, when sound he was a veteran presence who pitched with composure and guile an a sharp curveball. He could pump up his fastball if needed, but wouldn’t overpower hitters for any length of time. Young was coming off a shoulder surgery as severe, if not moreso, than Johan Santana’s. The Mets didn’t when he’d be ready when they signed him to a minor league deal in late March. He was signed as a reward for a good April in 2011, his desire to remain with the organization, and the inevitability there would be breakdowns in the rotation. After all, there always is. If Young could pitch, they were hoping for the same calming presence whenever that time came.

2012 SEASON REVIEW: That’s exactly what the Mets got when they purchased his contract in June. As expected, there were health cracks in the rotation when Mike Pelfrey went down early, Santana became ineffective following his 134-pitch no-hitter, and Dillon Gee went down with numbness in his arm. A breakdown from Young never happened and he gave the Mets 20 starts. Some were solid, others not so much, but he did reach an innings incentive in his contract which the club probably didn’t expect. Young finished at 4-9 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, but he pitched better than his numbers and was often frustrated with a lack of run support and porous bullpen evidenced by seven no-decision. Realistically he could have finished at 7-7, which is acceptable for a No. 5 starter who made 20 starts.

LOOKING AT 2013: As of now, there isn’t a clear spot in the rotation for Young, with presumably Santana and Dillon Gee – both coming off injuries – R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese and Matt Harvey ahead of him. Then again, that rotation is a house of cards. What if Santana and Gee aren’t ready? What if the Mets can’t extend Dickey’s contract and they trade him? What if Harvey has a setback? All of those things are possible and would leave the Mets with gaping holes in their rotation. So, if not Young, the Mets would need a veteran like him to fill the emergency void. There’s a sense of familiarity with Young, and last year he earned a reasonable $1.1 million salary. The Mets would be lucky to get 115 innings for that price somewhere else in the market. Young’s starts and innings could induce a contending team with a rotation hole to give him a shot as he proved his durability.

NEXT: Mike Pelfrey

About the Author: John Delcos

I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.

11 Comments + Add Comment

Metsie October 20, 2012 at 10:43 am

He earned his money but in the end the only thing we accomplished by signing him was to serve as a Player Paid Rehab facility where he could get back his career on our dime.

I wish him well wherever he goes he did right by us but we should not do anymore of these one year at a time signings for players we are taking a chance on being good.

We want to do a reclamation project we should sign them for two years at the reclamation prices so if they show to be successful there is at least a payoff of another year of cheap and good we get out of it.
- Stick October 20, 2012 at 1:05 pm
  
  nice idea, but it doesn’t work like that. Guys aren’t signing for multi year cut rate deals, so if you insist on that they will go elsewhere.
  
  so decide if you want to try and fill holes to attempt to win, or refuse to and just plug in rookies or Mil journeymen
  - Metsie October 20, 2012 at 5:36 pm
    
    Then let them go elsewhere a year earlier than they are now!
    Let someone else take the risk of giving them a contract while they prove they are an MLB player and lose that money for little to nothing gained no matter what he does.
    
    What was the long term (hell even short term) benefit to signing both Capuano and Young?
    and extra 2 Months in AAA for Harvey?
    
    Let someone else pay them thier rehab allowance and if they prove to be good then we can sign them the way the Dodgers signed Capuano.
    - Stick October 20, 2012 at 5:43 pm
      
      Maybe they signed guys because they needed players to win games?
      - Metsie October 20, 2012 at 5:55 pm
        
        Win games to what end? Did they get us to the playoffs?
        
        Some here are against signing Wright because we won’t win with him so why sign these guys who won’t win either?
Des October 20, 2012 at 12:45 pm

Metsie, he earned his money, as you said. He helped the team and the 115 innings he threw with a 1.348 WHIP was significant. His last start to earn more bonus money showed the team’s appreciation for him.

Your claim that the only thing we accomplished by signing him was to serve as a Player Paid Rehab facility where he could get back his career on our dime is a bit over the top.
- Stick October 20, 2012 at 1:06 pm
  
  you have to sign players that are actual ML quality if you want to try and win games, and as we know, that is the real goal.
- Metsie October 20, 2012 at 5:38 pm
  
  Read my response to you and stick above…
  
  It was hardly over the top and nothing to do with winning or even saving money.
David October 20, 2012 at 2:23 pm

I am sick of this reputation we have of nursing injured players to health, taking all the risks, and then watching them walk away with no compensation for us. The sad part is we’ll just do it all over again with someone else. We could have had Harvey come up when Young did, we didn’t need him. If we were really rebuilding Young wouldnt have gotten signed in the first place.
- Des October 20, 2012 at 3:27 pm
  
  The team didn’t think Harvey was ready. If we brought him up earlier than the FO wanted to, we might have had another Mike Pelfrey on our hands.
  
  Fans are fans, and the FO makes the decisions, though it’s tough for many of us to accept.
  - Metsie October 20, 2012 at 5:43 pm
    
    “The team didn’t think Harvey was ready”
    True for about a week!

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	24	18	.571	-
Nationals	23	20	.535	1.5
Phillies	20	23	.465	4.5
Mets	16	24	.400	7.0
Marlins	11	32	.256	13.5

Last updated: 05/18/2013

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