The Blue Jays designated Drew Storen for assignment on Monday, giving them 10 days to trade or release him before he becomes a free agent. The timing is a bit odd as Storen is going to become a free agent on Wednesday, August 3rd, two days after the trade deadline. If the Blue Jays are unable to move him in a deal, there should be plenty of interest in him including the Nationals who have a relationship with Storen. Should the Mets be interested?
There’s a reason Toronto gave up on Storen, who was having a dreadful year. In 38 appearances, he was 1-3 with a 6.21 ERA and a 1.590 WHIP, easily the worst numbers of his career.
However, during his previous six years with the Nationals, Storen had a 3.02 ERA and a 1.129 WHIP. These are numbers that should interest any team that is in contention. In 2014 and 2015, Storen was even better going 4-3 with 40 saves, a 2.26 ERA, and a 1.042 WHIP. Now that is a difference maker at the back end of the bullpen.
What is even more incredible is how Storen performed before the Nationals made the ill-fated Jonathan Papelbon trade. In 2014, Storen was 2-1 with 11 saves, a 1.12 ERA, and a 0.976 WHIP. Before the Papelbon trade, Storen was similarly dominant as the Nationals’ full time closer in 2015 going 1-0 with 29 saves, a 1.73 ERA, and a 1.018 WHIP. Looking over these numbers, there is no reason to believe the Nationals needed to replace Storen as the closer. Yet, they did, and his career has fallen apart since then.
In Storen’s 20 appearances as Papelbon’s set-up man, he was 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.285 WHIP. His season would end early as he broke his thumb in frustration after a game in which he allowed a Yoenis Cespedes home run in a loss to the Mets. The Nationals moved Storen in the offseason for Ben Revere, and Storen has been even worse than he was as a set-up man at the end of the 2015 season.
What is interesting is that Storen may not be a headcase that couldn’t handle being demoted to a set-up man by the Nationals and then the Blue Jays. As it turns out, whether it was the broken thumb or something else, Storen does not have the same stuff.
Storen has lost some velocity off his fastball and his sinker, and he has really not adjusted to the reduced velocity:
| 2014 -2015 | 2016 | |||
| MPH | Usage | MPH | Usage | |
| Fastball | 95 | 34% | 93 | 20% |
| Sinker | 94 | 20% | 92 | 31% |
| Change | 88 | 14% | 85 | 14% |
| Slider | 83 | 32% | 82 | 35% |
Storen has lost an MPH or two on each of his pitches, and he is pitching similar to how he has always pitched. When he was in the mid 90s, it seemed to work well for him. Now that he is in the low 90s, he is getting hit harder and more frequently. Across 2014 and 2015, Storen had limited batters to a .217/.257/.295 with 14 doubles and six homers in across Storen’s 123 appearances. In 2016, batters are hitting .309/.381/.532 with 13 doubles and six homers in his 38 appearances.
Another factor is Storen’s declining production is how left-handed batters have figured him out. In 2014, lefties hit .253/.274/.319 off of him with three doubles and one home run. Last year, lefties hit .284/.358/.349 with four doubles and one home run off of him. This year, lefties are teeing off on Storen to the tune of a .375/.485/.661 batting line with seven doubles and three home runs. Overall, Storen has gone from lefties giving him trouble to him simply not being to get lefties out at all.
Still, Storen can still get righties out. Across his dominant 2014 and 2015 seasons, righties were only hitting .167/.208/.257 with seven doubles and four homers off of him. This year, even with Storen’s reduced output, he has mostly kept righties in check as they have hit .265/.299/.446 with six doubles and three home runs. Right there is the hope for him. If Storen is still able to go out and get righties out, he can in essence be a “ROOGY” in the bullpen to compliment Jerry Blevins.
And who knows? It’s possible with an adjustment or two, Dan Warthen might be able to get Storen back to his 2014-2015 form. With that in mind, if the price is right, the Mets should be proactive and try to acquire Storen before the trading deadline.
