The Mets gave away Dillon Gee’s number to Logan Verrett on Thursday, the latest in a series of indications that Sandy Alderson’s endgame is to eventually give away Dillon Gee.
Gee, who has posted a miserable 5.90 ERA this season, was designated for assignment earlier this week, removing him from the 40-man roster and giving the Mets 10 days to trade him, release him (and pay his full salary), or send him to the minor leagues (with the hopes that the 29 year-old will find his form and enable them to find a taker— or a place for him on the MLB roster).
Rookie Logan Verrett made his Mets debut in Thursday’s 7-1 loss to Toronto and pitched well, tossing two scoreless innings. Verrett’s number? No. 35, the same one Gee wore in Flushing.
Now, the Mets by no means went out of their way to insult Dillon. Verrett wore #35 in the minors, and he requested to wear it upon being called up to the MLB team. But if the Mets planned on keeping Gee in the equation going forward, they certainly could have asked the rookie to pick another number (unlike the Yankees, the Mets still have plenty of jerseys left). Instead they simply obliged Verrett’s request.
Some still might view this as a low blow. Gee certainly didn’t endear himself to the team with his comments about “wasting bullets” in the minors during a rehab stint or his less-metaphorical gun remarks after a team photo in which the organization took a stand against gun violence. In light of this, the Mets were probably less willing to deny Verrett’s request out of respect for Gee than they might have been.
This isn’t like the Mets giving Mike Piazza’s inexplicably-unretired #31 to some mediocre fourth-string catcher. But it’s another strange turn in the increasingly strange and surprisingly unresolved downfall of Dillon Gee.
