Trevor Gott Continues To Improve, Showcasing His Value

Back on July 3, the New York Mets, who were not yet in the fire sale mindset, made a move to acquire relief pitcher Trevor Gott in exchange for reliever Zach Muckenhirn. In the deal, New York also acquired former Met Chris Flexen, and his $8 million salary, but promptly designated him for assignment.

The thought process was simple. Acquire a solid bullpen arm while eating the salary of a player the Seattle Mariners no longer wanted. Flexen, before the deal, owned a 7.71 ERA and 6.65 FIP. He was far from the pitcher Seattle saw win 22 games and post ERAs of 3.61 and 3.73 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. To further validate the Mets’ move to DFA him, Flexen went on to sign with the Colorado Rockies and promptly post a 8.56 ERA allowing 22 hits over 13 2/3 innings.

To put it simply, Flexen was rightfully not a desirable arm for Seattle, nor the Mets. By absorbing his contact, New York was able to acquire a major-league level relief arm. For those curious, the other piece in the deal, Muckenhirn, was designated for assignment and then sent to Triple-A not too long ago. He owns a 9.35 ERA across 8 2/3 Triple-A innings for Tacoma.

Now, this brings us to the performance of the prize of the deal, Trevor Gott. The right-handed reliever started his Mets’ tenure off in the worst way. After three scoreless outings, Gott went on to allow six earned runs over a period of 1 2/3 innings. After allowing three runs against in Boston over just 1/3 of an inning, Gott had allowed eight hits and six runs in only 4 2/3 innings to begin his career with New York. This inflated his season ERA all the way up to 5.08.

This stretch had pundits and fans once again questioning another move by general manager Billy Eppler. Well, once again, it appears many jumped the gun.

Since the outing versus the Red Sox, Gott has posted nine-straight scoreless appearances. He has thrown 7 1/3 innings, allowing only six hits while striking out nine. Although still not exactly pretty, he has lowered his season ERA back down to 4.28. This is much more like the pitcher New York thought they were acquiring. The above snippet from Baseball Savant shows just how strong Gott has been as a whole this year. Even despite that rough stretch.

The 30-year-old Gott was rightfully targeted by the Mets. He is just one season removed from posting an xERA of 2.94 over 45 2/3 innings. In the total sample, especially after factoring in this strong run he is on with New York, he has posted another strong season from an analytical perspective. A big reason why New York acquired him was he had one more year of control. If he keeps this up, he will certainly factor into the bullpen next season, showing exactly why New York made the deal back in July.