It seems like Mets pitcher Seth Lugo is a man on a mission.
We all know he wants to be a starter in the Mets rotation in 2020. Well, the addition of both Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello has not changed his desire.
He also continues to be verbal about this which is usually the sign of having a bad puppy running around in the clubhouse.
Does he have a chance here?
Should he look at the situation a little more objectively and crawl back to the pen?
Your thoughts...
5 comments:
Stroman, Porcello, and Macha are only controlled through 2020. 2 open spots in 2021, I would consider Lugo favorite to grab one. He is free to speak his mind but if he pitches well again in 2020 and two of the trio of Diaz, Betances, and Familia bounce back, he’ll likely get his wish in 2021.
Lugo wants to start, he should continue to express it...as long as he is willing to go to the pen if need be.
Sadly for him, career-wise, he has a 4.06 ERA as a (successful) starter, and 2.52 as a reliever, so my take is he is in the pen again in 2020.
I don't like it when players take to the media to further their own agendas........of course, if you get asked a "baited" question and you answer it then it falls on the player and the reporter, I guess.
Seth has pitched as a starter and a reliever in his short career and the statistics are pretty easy to read. He is a much better reliever then a starter, not to mention his elbow isn't 100% and the reduced innings he pitches in the bullpen are likely better for his career long term.
At the end of the day, he is a paid employee and he should give his best effort regardless of what he wants personally.
I hate to use the term "only" with this, but Seth is due to make only $1.9 million in 2020. He is not set to be a free agent until 2023 at age 33. He is a victim of the current salary system in that regard. He needs to stay healthy to earn a LOT more, starting in 2021. I do not know if being a starter or reliever is better for a pitcher's health.
Still, amazing to be having this conversation about a former 34th rounder whose first pro game was when he was almost 22 in 2011 and after Lugo missed the 2012 season due to spondylolisthesis, which required spinal fusion surgery and left him bedridden for three months, and after his partial UCL tear. Quite a defier of the odds.
Why do we look at it as a Victim of the current salary system...
He wasnt good enough or healthy enough to arrive sooner...
the team owes no player any opportunity, the player need to perform to prove or in essence force his way on the field. that is what Big boy sports is all about...
I would say in 2021 I would let him compete to be a starter if we have other relievers that allow for it... that is not the case here, in fact Matz looks like he is being squeezed and that is only because he didnt do enough to cement his position...
No participation medals given ...
some have to prove it more... so be it...
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