Seth Lugo was informed by New York Mets’ skipper Mickey Callaway over the weekend that he’d be returning to the bullpen after taking five turns in the team’s rotation. He didn’t take that news so well, but he’s a team player, and here we are.
He replaced Noah Syndergaard‘s spot in the starting five after the flamethrowing righty went down with a strained ligament in his finger on his throwing hand, making his first start on May 31 against the Cubs in a loss at home (four innings, three hits, no runs, three strikeouts).
He made another relief appearance on June 5 in another loss to Baltimore, again shining in his new spot (three innings, one hit, no runs, two punchouts). After that last relief outing, the 28-year-old made four starts, winning two of them.
In 19 innings pitched as a starting pitcher, Lugo had a 4.26 earned-run average, a .253/.299/.418 slash line against, and a somewhat bloated .302 batting average on balls in play.
Up until making his first start of the season, Seth Lugo was thriving in the Mets’ bullpen. Over 32.2 innings, the right-hander pitched to a 2.48 earned-run average while holding opponents to a measly .203/.269/.322 slash line and an astonishing .256 BABIP.
In his first appearance in relief since that June 5 outing in Sunday’s win in Miami, Lugo flexed his muscles out of the bullpen once again, giving up just one walk in 1.2 innings of work.
Clearly, Lugo is worth more to the New York Mets as a reliever at this current point in the season. Revamped wouldn’t be a strong enough word to describe the overhaul that this team’s relief corps has undergone so far.
On Opening Day, the Mets bullpen looked like this: Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos, Jerry Blevins, Anthony Swarzak, Paul Sewald, Robert Gsellman and Jacob Rhame.
Familia, who spent some time on the disabled list, Blevins, who hasn’t been himself this season, to say the least, and Gsellman, who has flamed out a bit since his hot start in a similarly new role to Lugo’s, are still in the mix (in Familia and Blevins cases, who knows for how long).
Swarzak, who just returned from a lengthier oblique injury, and newcomers Drew Smith (Lucas Duda trade), Corey Oswalt, Tim Peterson, Chris Beck, and Tyler Bashlor have had to pick up the slack.
If the Mets have been lucky enough to have a late lead in games since this new incarnation of the ‘pen has emerged, the back-end simply hasn’t been up to the task.
Having Seth Lugo back in that spot, as long as he’s still as effective as he was early on (with that curveball, he can do anything, in this writer’s opinion), should solidify those glaring deficiencies.
Look at the Mets’ relievers as an old, beat up rooftop. Shingles are missing, the support is clearly waning and the whole thing looks like it’s about to collapse. As a whole, sure, a full replacement would seem like the right move to make.
But a savvy roofing expert would weigh his options before committing to such a large job. By shoring up each and every weak spot, and adding just the right amount of aesthetically-pleasing yet effective repairs, specifically a support beam named Seth Lugo to prop up a sagging Mets bullpen and fresh faces in Smith, Oswalt, Peterson, and Bashlor, the effects could be just as efficient.
What’s underneath that roof, though, is another conversation for another day.
