In yesterday's post, I wrote about the Mets' effort to construct a bullpen for 2021 without resorting to spending a pile of money on established relievers. For an example of how that approach can go astray, we don't need to look any further than Jeurys Familia and Dellin Betances, pitchers who will be pocketing a cool $17 million of Steve Cohen's hedge fund profits between them. Those two would have to meet the absolute wildest hopes for their performance to even approach earning that pile of cash. While I don't begrudge any player for signing for big bucks — who wouldn't if we were in their place? — if I could reallocate that money with a snap of my fingers, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.
I watched most of the game against the Cardinals yesterday and was able to get a pretty good look at Arodys Vizcaíno, one of the players mentioned in my piece yesterday. He was the Braves closer for a while, but shoulder injuries in 2018 and 2019 really derailed his career to the point where he's with the Mets on a minor league contract. He got an inning against the Cardinals. I have to say, I was really impressed with his performance.
One thing you worry about with a shoulder injury is a permanent loss of velocity. For instance, it remains to be seen what velocity Dellin Betances will have on his fastball this season, but it's unlikely to return to the upper 90s heat that Betances once dominated hitters with. So watching Vizcaíno yesterday, it was heartening to see him consistently in the mid-90s with some life on the fastball. He did struggle a bit throwing his slider for strikes, but all in all, it wasn't a bad first outing for Arodys.
There are bigger questions to be answered by Vizcaíno this season. He needs to show that the shoulder will hold up pitching regularly and that he can still get Major League batters out consistently in games that count. Also, for a man who served an 80-game PED suspension in 2015, we can only hope there is nothing illegal assisting this recovery. Still, it's really heartening to see another live arm with real potential to contribute this season. In a year where teams will undoubtedly have to dig deep to cover all of the innings, it's crucial to come up with a few guys like this.
One man who pitched yesterday that I really haven't been writing or thinking about much is Corey Oswalt. Through no real fault of his own, Oswalt has come to represent the failure of the Wilpon regime to field teams with adequate depth. He's had a pretty rough time of it in 3 seasons with the Mets, with a 6.19 ERA over 84.1 innings pitched. He's given up 18 home runs and allowed more than a hit an inning while striking out a fairly low 6.5/9 IP.
Oswalt got quite a few chances to pitch for the Mets because he was often the least objectionable choice to fill a vacancy. It's kind of hard to hold that against him since he wasn't the man making personnel decisions. Still, Corey Oswalt can serve as a poster boy for the Mets' chronic lack of depth in recent years, even if he wasn't the worst example of that deficit.
I have to confess I was a bit surprised to see Oswalt consistently hitting 93 mph with his fastball against the Cardinals over his two innings of work yesterday. He mixed in his other pitches well and struck out 5 batters over his two innings pitched. It was an impressive spring debut for the Mets farmhand.
It had to rub Corey Oswalt the wrong way when the Mets removed him from the 40-man this spring. He had to pass through waivers to be reassigned to the minors, and I figured there would be at least one pitching-poor MLB club out there that would take a chance on the guy. There wasn't, and Oswalt looked like one of those guys who had some Major League chances and failed to pass the test. Players in that category often wind up bouncing around in the minors for a while until they decide to do something else with their lives.
I'm sure that Oswalt opened some eyes with yesterday's strong performance, both on the Mets and with other clubs. As I wrote earlier in this post, this will surely be a year where clubs will have to dig deep to cover all of the innings. Even if Corey doesn't get the call with the Mets, more performances like yesterday's should surely earn him a shot with another team. And he might even bring the Mets back a prospect with some value in a trade when a few weeks ago it looked like they would lose him for no return at all.
My guess would be that Corey Oswalt's best opportunity to pitch in the majors for the Mets would be in the bullpen, and solid velocity, like he showed yesterday, would be enough to earn some middle relief innings. Used as a starter primarily in his minor league career, Oswalt should be well-suited for a multi-inning relief role. I wouldn't expect to see him on the 26-man roster when the Mets break camp at the end of the month, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him sometime this season.
2 comments:
I also was very impressed by Viscaino, and in Oswalt's case, there is unfortunately a world of difference between 93 and 96-97, although there are certainly successful pitchers who throw 93.
I like Oswalt and, as I've said before, he impressed me last year before the wing fell off. Good poise, aggressiveness, and solid fastball.
It surprised me.
That said, I think he projects as a starter. More of a good mix of pitches rather than any single plus-pitch.
His upside is Dillon Gee, who I often defended back in the day.
Jimmy
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