New York Mets: Jason Vargas Year in Review

The one elder statesman of the New York Mets rotation was the well-traveled Jason Vargas. Vargas came into the year as an unwanted starter after his very rough 2018 season. He returned to the type of pitcher the Mets were expecting when they originally signed him and moved him to the Philadelphia Phillies around the trade deadline.

Vargas was a holdover from the Sandy Alderson regime. He was in the 2019 rotation just because the Mets had no one better. In 2018, he had a 5.77 ERA and looked like a shell of his 2017 All-Star version. It was evident the Mets were giving Vargas a very short leash early in the season and avoided using him if they did not need to. Vargas had to pitch nearly perfect to be successful with a mid-80s fastball.

Surprising Everyone

Things started slow for Vargas as he allowed four runs in an inning or less during two of his first three outings. Following the hiccups, he put together a stretch of 16 starts where he had a 3.27 ERA and even mixed in a complete-game shutout. Only six of those starts resulted in Vargas pitching six innings or more.

The key for Mickey Callaway was limiting how deep Vargas went into the game. This was an interesting approach because Vargas seemed to get better as he pitched deeper into the game. Like most pitchers, the only worry with Vargas was allowing the long ball as he got deeper into the game.

See You Tomorrow

It would be impossible to bring up Vargas’ year without discussing the incident between him and Tim Healey of Newsday. It came after a brutal loss against the Chicago Cubs when Healey said to Callaway, “see you tomorrow, Mickey.” Callaway and Vargas took issue with the comment as rumors swirled around Callaway’s firing all season.

Vargas challenged Healey to a fight and was held back by other players in the locker room. The following day he did not take questions from reporters and quickly tried to move on from the situation. It seemed like the Mets would have liked to see Vargas handle the situation better, and it immediately looked like he was one his way out of the organization.

He would end up being shipped to the Phillies a month later for a low-level minor league catcher. The Mets did not miss out as Vargas’ struggles from 2018 resurfaced during his time in Philadelphia.

Grades:

Pitching Repertoire: C, Did not have much to work with, but he made the most of it.

Control: C+, Average walk totals, but his game revolved around pitching around the zone.

Composure: B+, Generally calm on the mound, but will let his emotions known when heated.

Intangibles: D, The incident with Healey and the aftermath hurts him here.

Overall: C, He pitched above his expectations, but it was a good move for the Mets to move on from him.