Rick Porcello spoke with Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray on WFAN to discuss his decision to sign with the New York Mets.
Growing up in New Jersey and as a Mets fan certainly would have been a convincing argument, but there was a bigger thing that made him move to New York.
“They’ve got a pretty strong culture here,” Porcello said on Tuesday. “From top to bottom, you’ve got guys that can really throw the ball. That’s something I want to be a part of. This is a team that’s built to win and built to win now. I want to be a part of that. I want to get back to the playoffs and win another World Series. I felt like the Mets was the best chance to do that.”
Despite losing Zack Wheeler, the Mets’ pitching staff is still expected to be strong as he alluded to with Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Steven Matz, and Michael Wacha as other starters with major league deals.
Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman also loom as rotation options in the event one or multiple of those pitchers don’t perform or get hurt.
Porcello also cited the apparent “strong foundation” that has been created in New York over the last year as something that makes him confident in the team going forward.
As previously mentioned, the right-hander will have to do his part to ensure the Mets’ can be successful as he has some big shoes to fill with Wheeler staying in the division as he signed a five-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
In 2019, Porcello registered a 5.52 ERA, 4.76 FIP, and 1.394 WHIP with 7.4 K/9 as compared to 2.3 BB/9. He has definitely developed a reputation for his durability in his career as he has started at least 32 games in each of the last four seasons.
