Mets Season in Review: David Aardsma

Our player by player Season in Review pieces continue today with right handed reliever David Aardsma.  After being released by the Marlins (where he was in Triple-A), the Mets signed the 31 year old Aardsma and called him to the majors in June after he had a brief stint with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Jun 28, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher David Aardsma (30) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. The Nationals won the game 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

How he fared on the mound:

Aardsma, who didn’t appear in the majors in 2011 or 2012 due to injury issues, was strong at the start of his Mets tenure, but fell off as the season went on.  His ERA’s by month: 1.80 in June, 4.26 in July, 6.23 in August, and 5.40 in September.  It’s likely that Aardsma wore down a bit after June, due to the fact that he threw more innings in 2013 (61.2) than he threw over the prior three seasons combined (61.1).

Areas to improve upon:

Health is the issue for Aardsma.  Before injuries sidetracked him, he was very solid in both 2009 and 2010 for Seattle, when he posted ERA’s/WHIP’s of 2.52/1.16 and 3.44/1.17 respectively.  He was also strong in June and parts of July this season.

Projected role in 2014:

I’d expect the Mets to go with most of the younger arms (Parnell, Familia, Germen, Edgin) in the pen, but I could see them bringing Aardsma back on a minor league deal with incentives, and giving him a chance to break camp with the team.

Contract status and trade rumors:

Aardsma is a free agent.  As is noted above, I doubt the Mets bring him back on a major league deal.  However, I could see them keeping him in the fold in some capacity.

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