METS SIGN LHP AARON LOUP
FLUSHING, N.Y., January 30, 2021 – The New York Mets announced today that the team has signed left-handed pitcher Aaron Loup to a one-year contract.
Loup, 33, spent the 2020 season with the Tampa Bay Rays, going 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA (seven earned runs/25.0 innings) with four walks and 22 strikeouts in 24 games. He allowed two earned runs in 5.1 innings in the postseason, striking out six and allowing two walks.
Overall, he owns a career record of 15-22 with six saves, a 3.38 ERA (132 earned runs/351.0 innings) with 104 walks and 326 strikeouts in 406 games. The southpaw has held left-handed hitters to a .232 batting average in his career, including a .212 (7-33) mark last season.
The Raceland, LA native was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He pitched for Toronto from 2012-2018 before the Philadelphia Phillies acquired him at the 2018 trade deadline. In 2019, he appeared in four games for the San Diego Padres.
Baseball Reference Stats:
Baseball Reference Projections:
I don't get this signing at all.
ReplyDeleteHe's a one-out guy.
Sandy knows the rules changed, right?
To date, Mets haven't improved bullpen by much. Lost Wilson for Loup? Dumped Schreve for some reason. Adding May was very good. But are we really counting on Familia and Betances and getting lucky with fringe signings?
Colome still out there. Rosenthal. Others options. I just don't get the sense that Sandy wants to go there.
With the Bauer rumors persisting -- and no CF in sight -- I am now officially "concerned" about the offseason. This kind of signing doesn't help.
Jimmy
Regarding CF, my strong feeling is that Bradley's asking price is way, way out of line from his actual value. I don't think he comes here for what I would consider the right price (2/$16, say). He needs his "Come to Jesus" moment. Maybe that realization -- that there's no market -- will come to him eventually. Not a guy I'd overpay for.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the deal is with Marisnick? I thought it was an astute trade last season for a team with payroll limitations (though, admittedly, Blake Taylor had a surprisingly solid 20 innings with the Astros).
Marisnick was a better glove than anybody we've got and a RH bat. Unfortunately, it was another of Brodie's bad luck acquisitions. The idea was good, directly addressed a team need, but injuries derailed his season. He played only 16 games and hit .333/.353/.606 in 34 PA.
I wonder if the Mets saw him up close and didn't love him? Or if he has the stigma of being a Brodie guy?
I don't think you want to give him much more than 300 ABs, but seems like a useful piece if a club is looking to spend elsewhere.
If Brewers are looking for payroll relief, Cain makes sense to me (under the right trade circumstances).
Jimmy
Jimmy
Agreed Jimmy.
ReplyDeleteI would rather have Wilson and Shreve and would re-sign Marisnick over Almora and Bradley. The problem now is that the 40 man roster is now full.
They have to dump salary or cut someone unless one of the above will take a minor league deal.
A few comments here . .
ReplyDeleteI myself had not considered Loup as a candidate for their left handed signing. The $3M seems a little high for that, but one thing I do like about it is his walk rate - the guy walked one batter every 6 games last year. If he can do that again, sign me up as a fan.
I also believe the one positive move they could make for their pen would be to state unequivocally that Seth Lugo will be a reliever in 2021 and give up on the starter idea. I have no issue with Diaz, May, Lugo, Familia, Loup, and anybody else . .
(my darkhorse candidates for valuable contributors out of the bullpen in 2021 are Drew Smith and Daniel Zamora). I would also like to see them sign Shreve back.
On to their centerfield issue: I cannot lump Marisnick, Almora, Bradley Jr., in the same group. Of the three, JBJ is the only starting centerfielder at this point. I suppose an argument could be make for Almora, but he just doesn't have the recent track record to warrant a starting gig over Smith.
With that said, JBJ is probably not wrong in what he is asking. He is by far the best outfielder left on the open market and probably a better outfielder than any hitting free agency next year as well. If Michael Bourn can sign a 4-year $40M contract back in early 2013, and Dexter Fowler gets a 5-year $82.5M contract in 2016, and Michael Brantley scores a 2-year $32M contract in for 2019-20, Bradley Jr. can certainly be looking at at least 3 years and $13 or $14M per. He is by far the best fielder at a premium position and while he may not put up a huge average, his OPS for 3 of the last 6 years is over .800, over .700 the other 3. This guy is a very fine major league player. If his market is so thin that he would sign at 3/$36M, it would be a very good signing.
If the right trade was put together for Cain, that is fine, but Bradley won't cost players, is much younger, and will not cost what Cain will in dollars for the next two years.