The New York Yankees have agreed to terms with free agent left-hander Justin Wilson. MLB Insider Robert Murray was first in reporting that the two sides were in serious discussions about a deal.
Wilson, 33, spent the last two seasons with the Mets and compiled 0.8 fWAR out of their bullpen over that time, with a 2.91 ERA and 3.62 FIP.
The Mets and Wilson were in contact about negotiating a new contract according to Pat Ragazzo of MetsMerized, but the southpaw will instead head to the crosstown rival Yankees for his second stint with the team. Wilson pitched in 74 games for the Bombers in 2015.
Apart from Seth Lugo, Wilson was arguably one of the most consistent arms out of the Mets bullpen the last two seasons. In 2020, Wilson thrived by having low exit velocity and hard hit balls in play, and has strong spin on his fastball.
With the aforementioned Lugo slated to miss time due to undergoing an elbow procedure, bringing Wilson back into the fold would have been a shrewd move for the Mets.
Now, the team will have to rely on internal arms such as Dellin Betances and Jeurys Familia to bounce back at the back end of the bullpen, unless of course the Mets now pivot to someone like Trevor Rosenthal.
Wilson is represented by ACES Baseball Inc.
