One of the things that New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway thought he could count on in 2019 was the continued reliability of one-time starter now bullpen pitcher, Seth Lugo.
And why not? Last year, Lugo became a weapon out of the bullpen throwing 101.1 innings pitching to an outstanding 2.66 ERA. He struck out 103 while only walking 28—an almost four-to-one ratio—and was used in a variety of ways by Callaway.
Lugo had outings where he pitched multiple innings, and somewhere he needed to get the team out of trouble in shorter stints. Then, when the 2019 season began, he pitched an inning on opening day against the Washington Nationals and proceeded to strike out the side.
Reliable indeed.
Unfortunately, things have gone poorly for Lugo over his last three starts. In the second game of the year, also against the Nationals, he allowed four runs (none earned) in a sloppily played ninth inning in an 11-8 Mets win. His next outing was in the team’s fifth game, a 6-5 win over the Miami Marlins, Lugo gave up three runs on five hits. Then on Thursday, in the Mets home-opening loss to the Nationals, Lugo pitched one-third of an inning allowing two runs on two hits.
When it’s all added up, Lugo has been charged with five earned runs, eight hits and three walks over his last 3.2 innings. He’s currently pitching to an unsightly 12.27 ERA. Some have speculated that Lugo was under the weather for some of his starts. Others point to his pitch count. In Lugo’s first start against the Nationals, he threw 15 pitches while in start number two he tossed 41. Lugo has not been the same pitcher since the ninth inning of the season’s second game, an inning that featured an error by Robinson Cano, two walks and a hit-by-pitch that turned an 11-4 laugher into an 11-8 final.
Lugo, 29, was given some time off after game two against Washington, not throwing one pitch in the Mets series finale against the Nationals nor in the first game against Miami. Mickey Callaway does not seem concerned. He told Greg Joyce of the New York Post that:
“I think he’s going to be fine,” Callaway said “[Bench coach Jim Riggleman] and I talked about it, we talked about this situation, going into the game. If we’re down, let’s hold them close, we have the day off [Friday]. Maybe this is a good time to get Lugo going. Non-leverage situation, you’re down, go out there with no pressure. And he just didn’t have it, so we got him out of there.”
The problem is that Lugo’s main purpose on the team is to pitch in ‘high-leverage’ situations, whether it’s to protect a tenuous lead or to keep the Mets from falling further behind if they’re trailing. He failed to do the latter in the home-opener yielding two runs in the ninth to turn a 2-0 deficit to a 4-0 hole.
It’s still very early in the season, and most pitchers will have their ups and downs through 162 games. But the last three outings by Seth Lugo have to raise at least a little concern. His steadiness last year and his first appearance this year, give hope that this is only a glitch.
The bullpen was a major cause of concern in the off-season for the Mets and changes were made for the 2019 campaign. But one thing that remained a constant is the usually stellar performance of Lugo. He’ll need to come around and pitch like he did in 2018 if the bullpen is to be solid as the Mets have envisioned.
