As New York Mets beat reporter Mike Puma noted on the New York Post’s new podcast “Amazin but True,” Michael Wacha will likely accept a bullpen role, which could be similar to how Seth Lugo is utilized.
Lugo was the Mets most dominant reliever in 2019 tossing 80 innings, while striking out 100 batters and posting a 2.2 bWAR. He also went 7-4, with a 2.70 ERA, and .900 WHIP.
While Lugo and Wacha have expressed their desire to be in the rotation, they both can be used as weapons in long relief roles. For Lugo, he was the Mets best relief option in a season where the bullpen was abysmal. Lugo would often give the team multiple innings of relief per appearance, however, this made him unavailable the following day.
Wacha went 6-7 with a 4.76 ERA and 1.563 WHIP, striking out 106 batters in 126 innings. He also made five relief appearances in 2019.
Although Wacha has had a strong spring pitching to a 1.17 ERA with five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings, Steven Matz and Rick Porcello will likely lock up the final two spots in the Mets rotation. This means Wacha is destined for the bullpen.
If the team chooses to use Lugo and Wacha interchangeably in relief, this could allow them to try a multitude of tactics such as pitching option A for multiple innings one day, and option B the following day to the identical extent in order to complement one another.
This would also let them potentially kick the tires on the “opener” method, which has become a hot commodity around the league, particularly for the Tampa Bay Rays the past few seasons.
Lugo has pitched with a partially torn UCL since 2017, while Wacha battled shoulder issues in recent years. Both should serve as useful options for a Mets bullpen that must bounce back in 2020.
General manager Brodie Van Wagenen is known as an “outside the box,” thinker. Is it possible he had this Lugo-type role in mind when he signed Wacha in December?
Robert Gsellman is also a former starter, who can be used as a long man, similar to Lugo and Wacha. Gsellman was up-and-down last season posting a 4.66 ERA, 1.366 WHIP, while striking out 60 batters in 63 innings. His season was cut short in August when he was diagnosed with a partially torn lat muscle.
As for Wacha, he’s a long-time starter, who was signed as a depth piece in the rotation after the team gave Rick Porcello a one-year $10 million deal. If the starting five stay healthy, Wacha, Lugo, and Gsellman could be a three-headed monster in long relief, eating up innings all season and providing stability in a previously disastrous bullpen.
Check out the Post’s new Mets podcast “Amazin but True,” hosted by former Mets pitcher and SNY analyst Nelson Figueroa, along with WFAN columnist and producer Jake Brown.
