Photo by Ed Delany, MMO
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reported that the Rangers and Mets have met during the winter meetings. He notes the names of David Peterson and Anthony Kay as points of interests for the Rangers, but also mentions that to be able to obtain either of them, they’d have to be willing to part with 24-year old reliever Jose Leclerc.
Leclerc had a 1.56 ERA, 1.90 FIP in 57.2 innings pitched in 2018, which was good for 12 saves. Also, striking out 13.27 per 9 innings pitched, he has a stuff that misses bats as a former starter with 4 pitches, including a big fastball and changeup.
There are some concerns about his control and he did walk 3.90 per 9 innings last year, but the ratio helps stomach that concern. The 2% HR/FB ratio and .211 BABIP makes one think there’s some space for regression in 2019 though.
Peterson and Kay are two of the Mets top starting pitching prospects. The Mets have already traded their top pitching starting prospect Justin Dunn in a trade that helped bring in Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz earlier this offseason.
