Reese Kaplan -- Sometimes You've Got to Leave NY

For a team that for its history has lived and died by the success of its pitching staff, it’s unusual to find hurlers who do better outside of a Mets uniform than they do under the harsh media glare of New York City.  Some are expected like Tom Seaver, David Cone and others who were formidable for the Mets and equally useful to their new teams.  Then occasionally you find folks who flamed out for the Mets that discover new success with the fresh regime.  Sometimes it’s a matter of moving from the rotation to the pen or from the starter role to reliever.  Sometimes it’s a matter of new coaching.  Sometimes it’s the individual who takes stock of himself after having failed in the past and learns how to channel his talent more effectively.

Right now in baseball there are two conspicuous examples of former Mets who did not flourish in Queens but who have found competency with a fresh start somewhere else.  Let’s take a brief look at what they did for the Mets and what they’re doing in their new homes.

Reliever Hansel Robles was someone who had a great many supporters and just as many detractors while he was working for the Mets.  Like most pitchers, he began as an every 5th day starter as he worked his way up the minor league chain.  From age 18 through age 23 he was primarily a starter.  He was showing decent control, about one K per IP and an ERA in the lower 2.00 range.  That kind of performance suggested he was going to be a blue chipper.

However, then he hit the wall when he went to the Rookie league and A+.  All of the sudden the ERA jumped to over 4.00.  All of the sudden what was working for the lower level minor leaguers wasn’t a challenge once he got to better hitters.  The control was still acceptable but the strikeout totals reduced significantly.  After a dismal year in AA Robles was converted to reliever and made it to the major to appear in 68 games with the Mets in 2016 when the team was on its ascent to the post-season.  He did pretty well, with a season ending ERA of just 3.48 at the major league level (which was better than he’d done in the minors), but he started to issue both a lot of walks and his home run totals started to rise.  

He shuttled back and forth between New York and Las Vegas for the next few years until the Mets finally decided he was not part of their future and he crossed coasts to become a member of the Angels organization.  Surprisingly he was given closer duties and responded better than anyone could have hoped.  In 2019 he went 5-1 with a 2.48 ERA over a 71 game bullpen season.  He saved 23 games, struck out more than 1 per IP and kept the walks down to 2 per 9 IP.  Many people wonder what got into him and more importantly, what did the Angels do to help his progression?

Another mystery man was a hot property coming up through the Mets minor league system.  Rafael Montero was a solid starting pitcher with an ERA under 3.00, strikeouts better than 1 per IP and great control.  He looked as if he would be a solid addition to the Mets rotation.

He made his major league debut in 2014 and he was not eye popping in his output.  His record was an unimpressive 1-3 with a 4.06 ERA.  The number that really jumped out was his walks.  He has always shown excellent control, but suddenly he was walking close to 5 per 9 IP.  He made 8 starts that year but no one knew how he would fit in with the team in the future.

For the next few years he shuttled back and forth between the majors and various levels of the minors.  The strikeouts returned with as many as 15 per 9 IP and his walks occasionally disappeared from his output as well.  However, whenever he was in the majors he was a totally different pitcher, walking the ballpark and giving up home runs.  He’d missed some time due to a mystery arm ailment that flustered his then-manager Terry Collins but he never fully recovered.

Well, that was true until he spent time in the Rangers minor league organization and then up at the major league level.  In 2019 he was in 22 games at the big league level with a modest 2.48 ERA, more than 1 K per IP and only 1.6 walks.  Again, what did the Rangers do that the Mets failed to do?  

I’m sure there are some other good examples of pitchers who flourished once they left New York...someone named Nolan something comes to mind...