The New York Mets were highly invested in Yoshinobu Yamamoto before he decided to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Yamamoto now unobtainable, the Mets have shifted their focus to another pitcher on the free agent market.
New York is showing strong interest in Lucas Giolito, via Mike Puma of the New York Post. If signed, he would give the Mets an innings eater and a potential bounce-back candidate.
King of Queens
On the surface, going from Yamamoto to Giolito could be seen as a massive downgrade. Giolito spent last season on the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians. Over 33 total appearances, the right-hander held an 8-15 record with a 4.88 ERA and a 204/73.
Giolito set a new career-high for innings pitch, which would surely interest New York as they give their rotation some patch work. But it wasn't long ago that Giolito looked like one of the better young pitchers in the league.
In 2021 and 2020, Giolito earned Cy Young votes after putting up 3.53 and 3.48 ERAs respectively. He held a collective 298/113 K/BB ratio. In 2019, Giolito earned the first All-Star appearance on his career with a 14-9 record, 3.41 ERA and 228/57 K/BB ratio. He set his career-high in strikeouts and career-low in ERA among seasons with 100+ innings pitched.
Lucas Giolito certainly isn't Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He won't come in and be the immediate ace New York wants to pair with Kodai Senga. But at this stage of free agency, Giolito is one of the more intriguing arms available. With the Mets in desperate need of more starting pitching, the right-hander is at the top of their post-Christmas wish list.
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