Over the weekend the Mets made a minor league signing of John Lannan, a player the Mets have been connected to a few times over the past few years. Lannan came up through the Nationals system and spent some time with the Phillies. The Mets need pitching depth that aren’t prospects in case injuries require call ups, Lannan makes sense here.
Lannan will be 29 this upcoming season, and it will also be his 8th season in the majors if he is called up at some point. His strongest years were between 2008 and 2011 where he pitched 122 games with a 4.00 ERA and a 36-49 record. Over that stretch he pitched over 180 innings in a season three times include one year where he logged 206.1 innings. He also recorded more than 100 strikeouts in 2008 and in 2011.
Overall he has pitched in 148 games with a 4.12 ERA and a 45-58 record. In the last two seasons he has pitched in 20 games with a 4.96 ERA while posting a 7-7 record. During that time he also logged 107.0 innings.
Lannan is a solid veteran pick up at a very low risk. The rotation right now looks like (in no order) Colon, Wheeler, Niese and Gee. The fifth spot is an open competition between Mejia, Torres, deGrom and now Lannan. It gives Lannan a good inside shot for a veteran presence and insurance going into 2014. Montero and Syndegaard will come up at some time in 2014, just in case they aren’t ready to come up yet, Lannan can give them the space they need.
This isn’t a rock star signing to make the playoffs, but it is a solid signing that improves the team. Let’s see what happens in 26 days.
