The New York Mets have turned their campaign around, and after seeming destined to miss the postseason for the second year in a row, the blue and orange now find themselves entering the all-star break in the final wild-card spot at 49-46.
After returning to playoff contention, president of baseball operations David Stearns made a pair of moves in acquiring Matt Gage and Phil Maton to strengthen the bullpen but had to designate a veteran starter to make room on the roster.
It appeared that the veteran starter would be pitching elsewhere for the remainder of the campaign, but he ended up passing through waivers.
The Mets have retained Joey Lucchesi
According to the Mets transaction log on MLB.com, Joey Lucchesi went unclaimed on waivers and has been sent back to Triple-A Syracuse.
The 31-year-old has made just one start in the major leagues this season, going 4.1 innings while allowing five hits, five runs, walking four, and striking out a pair. Lucchesi has pitched 83.2 innings across 15 starts with Triple-A Syracuse to a 4.20 ERA and 1.363 WHIP while striking out 63.
The master of the churve has more than three years of service time, which is enough time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but is a few months short of being able to maintain the rest of his $1.65 million if Lucchesi were to opt for the open market.
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What does this mean for the Mets?
While Lucchesi still has the potential to opt for free agency to look for another chance to start at the major leagues or for a squad with less rotation depth, the 31-year-old will likely remain in the organization.
With the California native’s return to Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets continue to have excellent pitching depth and could look to move a starter to upgrade other areas of the team.
