Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, confirms what was reported late last night by NY Baseball Digest. Tim Byrdak has signed a minor league deal with the Mets and will be invited to spring training.
If used properly, he can be very effective and a serious weapon for Terry Collins against left handed sluggers like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.
Lefties hit .210 off him in 2010. For his career, he has held lefties to a .677 OPS.
Original Post 1:00 AM
On Wednesday, Adam Rubin reported that free agent reliever Tim Byrdak is on the Mets radar and could end up competing with Taylor Tankersley for a left-handed relief role in spring training.
While at a kids event at Citi Field, Mets Merized Online was on hand when manager Terry Collins told a large group of bloggers and reporters that he was optimistic that Sandy Alderson was working on adding another left-handed reliever and that they were talking with a couple of relievers.
Late Thursday night, NY Baseball Digest tweeted that Byrdak’s deal with Mets was complete and later added that he spoke to Mike Mosa the agent for Tim Byrdak who told him that “he will be coming to St. Lucie on a minor league deal”. I know this site’s policy on blog sourced rumors, but given that they have spoken directly to the agent for confirmation and provided a direct quote, it sounded pretty credible to me.
Of the two quality left handed relievers still available, Byrdak was probably my least favorite, but only because I have a higher regard for Joe Beimel. Plus at 37-years old Byrdak does pose a bit of a risk and Beimel is three years younger.
Byrdak did have a solid season in 2010 with the Astros going 2-2 with a 3.49 ERA in 64 relief appearances, and he held left handed hitters to a .213 batting average. Here are his numbers over the last three seasons.
| G | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.90 | 59 | 55.1 | 45 | 24 | 10 | 29 | 47 | 109 | 1.337 | 7.3 | 4.7 | 7.6 | 1.62 |
| 3.23 | 76 | 61.1 | 39 | 22 | 10 | 36 | 58 | 128 | 1.223 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 8.5 | 1.61 |
| 3.49 | 64 | 38.2 | 40 | 15 | 4 | 20 | 29 | 112 | 1.552 | 9.3 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 1.45 |
| 3.53 | 199 | 155.1 | 124 | 61 | 24 | 85 | 134 | 116 | 1.345 | 7.2 | 4.9 | 7.8 | 1.58 |
Aside from a very high WHIP last season, the numbers are solid, and he’s certainly a better option than Taylor Tankersley who has yet to establish himself as a specialist in my opinion.
What do you think Mets fans, worth the shot?
