Michael Wacha
Player Data: Age 29, B/T R/R
Primary Stats: 8 G, 7 GS, 1-4, 34 IP, 6.62ERA, 9.8 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 1.559 WHIP
Advanced Stats: 64 ERA+, 5.25 FIP, -0.2 WAR
Free Agent: 2021
2020 Salary: $3 M
Grade: F
2020 Review
In what was a mostly disappointing 2020 campaign for the New York Mets, the poor play of Michael Wacha, for the most part, went vastly unnoticed. While abysmal, his seven starts and 34 innings on the mound will not be in the memories of fans when they think about the downfalls experienced by the team this past season. That in no way however gives him a pass on what was an entirely underperforming tenure in a Mets uniform.
When a team signs a 28-year-old former All-Star, who also happens to be a NLCS MVP, one would expect it to come with heavy fanfare and excitement. However that’s not what transpired when the now former front office announced the signing back in December of 2019.
Most saw it for what it was, the signing of another CAA client who in no way resembled the one who played a pivotal role for a Cardinals team that won 100 games in 2015.
Signed as depth for the pitching staff, Wacha was given a heavily incentive laden contract that greatly increased his salary based on starts and innings per appearances. He then made statements about being told by the front office that he would be given a rotation spot if he was healthy, which seemed odd given that at the time they had just signed Rick Porcello to a one-year deal to round out the rotation.
We all know what happened in the coming months, Covid-19, Noah Snydergaard need Tommy John surgery and Marcus Stroman opted out of the season. While these things were unfortunate for the Mets, it did provide Wacha with an opportunity to prove the skeptics wrong and perform above most observers expectations.
Ultimately that did not happen.
In seven starts, Wacha only reached the sixth inning one time, a Sept. 23rd start versus the Rays. Five of his starts ended prior to the fifth inning, giving up more runs than innings pitched in three of his starts.
If you take out his first start of the season, five innings and one run against the Red Sox on July 27th, Wacha allowed 25 runs across 29 innings pitched.
Overall his numbers told the story of a guy who still strikes out opponents at a decent clip, limits his walks, yet is prone to giving up the long ball at almost unseen numbers. His inability to keep the ball in the ballpark is by far his biggest weakness on the mound.
His nine home runs allowed in 34 innings would have put him on pace for 43 home runs allowed if he had thrown 162 innings (what is needed to qualify for league leader titles in regular season parameters).
To put it in perspective Justin Verlander lead the league in 2019 with 44 home runs allowed in 258 innings. If Wacha had gone 258 innings in 2020 he would have been on pace for 68 home runs allowed.
2021 Outlook
A 29-year-old with the kind of track record Wacha has is going to get a chance somewhere. A team will convince themselves they can right the ship and get him back to being the pitcher he was just a few seasons ago and sign him to a one-year incentive based deal just like the one he received this past year. It’s just not gonna be the Mets.
