The New York Mets sign Michael Wacha to a 1-year deal
The New York Mets signed free agent pitcher Michael Wacha yesterday as a direct replacement in the rotation for Zack Wheeler.
In the wake of the Anthony Rendon signing, the New York Mets will be praying for some luck by signing free agent Michael Wacha. The signing is intended to directly replace the departure of Zack Wheeler at a 1-year, $3 million price tag.
Now the reason I mentioned luck is because of how unlucky Wacha has been. He has only thrown over 140 innings twice in his 7-year career. Last year he went 6-7 with a 4.76 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 126 2/3 innings.
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Wacha has struggled mightily since leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the 2013 World Series where they lost to the Boston Red Sox. For his career, Wacha is 59-39 with a 3.91 ERA and 759 strikeouts.
The guy he’s replacing, Zack Wheeler, is 44-38 with a 3.77 and 729 strikeouts for his career. Both pitchers have been overrated and underrated at different points in their respective careers.
To me, Wacha has the most upside and simultaneously the most downside of any free agent pitcher on the market. He is only 28 and can still throw hard, but his injury history is very discouraging. He is going to have to find a way to stay off the injury report to earn the extra $7 million in incentives.
I don’t see a great resurgence in his case. Now that’s not to say it can’t happen, I simply don’t believe it will. He was an elite pitcher for about 2 years and after that has been less than efficient. He’ll chew up some innings at the back half of the Mets rotation, but it won’t be enough.
Next. LAA still not true contenders after Rendon signing. dark
The good thing for the Mets is they were able to get Wacha at a cheap price. If he turns out to be a bust, $3 million is too bad in a world where Gerrit Cole is getting over $300 million.