It isn’t a show-stopping, headline-stealing name or acquisition, but Joey Lucchesi could potentially be a left-handed option out of the Mets bullpen toward the very end of the regular season.
Manager Buck Showalter revealed on Sunday prior to the five-game series finale against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field that Lucchesi continues to progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery in June of 2021.
“If he can continue down the path he’s on, he’s going to be an option for us,” Showalter said (h/t MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo).
He admitted that it’s not in the immediate future, but he could be available in the final weeks. Eight weeks currently remain in the regular season.
A series victory against the Braves that has seen them extend their lead atop the NL East standings still hasn’t covered up the fact that the Mets still need a legitimate left-handed reliever out of the bullpen.
Joely Rodriguez is the only natural reliever that is a southpaw option currently on the Mets roster — and his 5.52 ERA leaves much to be desired.
David Peterson didn’t do much with his chance out of the bullpen two weeks ago during the Subway Series against the Yankees when he relinquished a 2-0 lead built for Max Scherzer on just five pitches. With Jacob deGrom also being re-introduced into the rotation and the importance of keeping him on five days’ rest, Peterson got the ball on Saturday against Atlanta in which he went 5.1 innings of scoreless ball while allowing just three hits.
With the lack of lefty options, it came as a surprise to see the Mets not bring one in during the trade deadline.
While they addressed the lack of production from the designated hitter spot by building a platoon with Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf, general manager Billy Eppler only managed to come away with one reliever — and it was a righty in veteran Mychal Givens.
Moving to the bullpen would be somewhat of a sizable transition for Lucchesi, who has started 66 of the 70 MLB games he appeared in with the San Diego Padres and Mets. His numbers as a reliever aren’t all that impressive either, possessing a 4.91 ERA over seven innings pitched. Though it’s important to note the small sample size.
There undoubtedly will be other options to pursue on the DFA market, such as Jake McGee, but this is an in-house option that has flashed plus-stuff — especially his patented “churve” which is some kind of mix of a slider, curve, and changeup — that could at least get a look at coming in for some high-leverage situations against lefty batters.
