Rudy Lugo Bullpen Contender

The Mets picked up Rudy Lugo the other day and as a little distraction from the Santana excitement, lets take a look at Lugo' stats. Lugo is 28 years old, born in the Dominican Republic and attended high school in Brooklyn (so he is familiar with New York). He has pitched in 9 seasons in the Minor Leagues and during that time, in 2006 and 2007, he has appeared at the Major League level (but no years completely in the Major Leagues).

So far in his 102 games in the majors, none of them starts, he has posted a 4.39 ERA (over 133.1 IP). He has played in 220 games in the minors over 9 seasons and 535.2 IP, posting a 3.92 ERA. (Of those 220 games, he started 49 of them).

In 2006 he made his debut for Tampa Bay and during the 06 season, he had a 3.81 ERA, 64 G, 85.0 IP and 48 K's. If you look at that season alone, you see a reliable reliever who is average in terms of ERA but is a work horse in terms on innings pitched. Things didn't go so well for him in the 2007 season as he posted a 9.28 ERA over 11 games 10.2 innings for Tampa and then posted a 4.30 ERA over 27 games and 37.2 innings for Oakland. His minor league stats of a 1.84 ERA (14.2 IP) in the International League and a 0.45 (20.0 IP) in the Pacific League are worth noting.

He has pitched in Spring Training twice, each year pitching 11.0 innings and posting a 2.45 ERA and a 4.09 ERA.

All of this being said, his 5+ ERA last year should not be looked as such. I know I am an optimist but this could be a good pick up for the Mets. I think he would be useful to use in situations when the Mets have a big lead and they just need a pitcher to eat up innings to rest the starters and the bullpen. His amount of time that he pitches, especially in 2006,  makes him a nice asset. He is also 28 and has had some success in the majors so maybe he can find his own this year with the Mets and really develop. The bottom line is that you can never have enough arms on your staff and in you system.