The New York Mets solved their left-handed relief issues on Wednesday, by signing veteran southpaw Aaron Loup to a one-year contract. After losing Justin Wilson to free agency, the team needed at least one lefty out of the bullpen, as most of the options are right-handed: Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, Robert Gsellman, and Jeurys Familia, just to name a few.
The salary that Loup will receive from the New York Mets hasn’t been reported yet. He makes for a nice addition to a bullpen that lost its top target, Brad Hand, recently.
The 33-year-old Loup has a career 3.38 ERA and a 3.50 FIP in 351 innings. He hasn’t earned more than $2 million in any year during his MLB tenure: cheap production.
Loup is more than a left-handed specialist:
Career vs. lefties: .233/.302/.320, .279 wOBA, 2.96 FIP, 3.19 xFIP, 4.16 K/BB
Career vs. righties: .264 /.332/.424, .324 wOBA, 3.91 FIP, 3.87 xFIP, 2.70 K/BB
Of course, he is at his best against left-handed batters, but he uses a four-pitch arsenal to retire batters of both hands.
Lefties on the Mets’ bullpen
The newest Mets’ pitcher had a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings last season with the Tampa Bay Rays, striking out 22 batters while holding lefties to a .212/.278/.303 slash line.
Here is the current state of the Mets’ bullpen, as far as left-handers go, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo: “Currently, the only lefty relievers on the Mets’ 40-man roster are Daniel Zamora and Stephen Tarpley, both of whom possess checkered recent histories. The Mets also signed veteran specialist Jerry Blevins to a Minor League deal, inviting him to Spring Training. They have several additional pitchers who could come out of the bullpen if needed, including Steven Matz, Joey Lucchesi and prospect Thomas Szapucki, though the team intends to keep at least Matz and Lucchesi stretched out as starters.”