Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets went to veteran left-hander Zack Britton on Wednesday according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Though the Mets traded for fellow lefty Brooks Raley earlier this offseason, the southpaw depth is thin beyond that.
Britton, 35, has thrown only 38 innings over the last three seasons. In 2021, Britton missed months after surgery that removed a bone chip from his elbow. Once he returned, he struggled, pitching to a 5.89 ERA (5.46 FIP) over 18.1 innings, but it turns out he needed Tommy John surgery. That caused him to miss most of 2022, returning at the end of the regular season. However, he did not perform well, struggling to throw a strike. He allowed six walks and a hit over three games, during which he only recorded two outs. He ended the year on the injured list with arm fatigue and didn’t pitch in the playoffs.
The upside is there, as he was one of the best relievers in all of baseball in the seven seasons prior to his injury. Part of those were spent in Baltimore with Buck Showalter as his manager. (Britton even says he doesn’t hold a grudge against Showalter for his non-use of Britton in the 2016 playoffs.)
From 2014 to 2020, the lefty had a minuscule 1.82 ERA (2.93 FIP) over 367.1 innings. It was previously reported by Jon Heyman that the Mets were of the teams interested in seeing if Britton has anything left in the tank.
Read our free agent profile of Britton here.
