Mets five best free agent starting pitcher signings of all-time

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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 28: Bartolo Colon #40 of the New York Mets throws a pitch during a game against the Houston Astros at Citi Field on September 28, 2014 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

The New York Mets have added some notable starting pitchers via free agency. Who are the five best?

The New York Mets have been (mostly) consistent with developing pitchers in their farm system. In many of their trips to the World Series, they did it on the backs of homegrown starting pitching.

Not all of the greatest Mets pitchers first put on an orange and blue uniform after serving time in the team’s minor league system. The five we’re going to cover here all joined the Mets via free agency.

Excluded from this list is Tom Seaver. The GOAT of the franchise, while a free agent, was an amateur signing. We’re only going to include those with professional experience.

5) Bartolo Colon

When the Mets signed Bartolo Colon before the 2014 season, I’m not sure anyone thought he would give us so many memorable members. Over the next three seasons, Colon became a human highlight reel. They weren’t always the most flattering images. However, his on-field production definitely exceeded any expectations.

Despite already living 40 years on this planet, Colon had plenty of baseball left in him. During his time with the Mets he went 44-34 with a 3.90 ERA. In 2016, he even managed to earn an All-Star selection.

Colon was never the staff’s ace, but there’s something to say about his presence among all of the youngsters. He was a steady member of the starting pitching staff while Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and others grew into stars.

Technically, Colon could be on this list twice. He first signed a two-year deal then added a third year after the 2015 campaign. To keep things simple, let’s just add his name on here once.

A beloved member of the organization, the Colon free agent signing paid off much more than I think anyone anticipated.

SEATTLE – JUNE 18: Pedro Martinez #45 of the New York Mets pitches during the game with the Seattle Mariners on June 18 2005 at Safeco Field in Seattle Washington. The Mariners won 4-1. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

4) Pedro Martinez

Just one year after finally winning the World Series with the Boston Red Sox, Pedro Martinez became a free agent. He would land in a city he fought hard against for many years. It wasn’t the New York Yankees. It was the other team, the Mets.

Martinez signed a four-year deal with the Mets. In a rotation with fellow future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine, things looked like they would turn out well for New York.

In his first year with the club, Martinez was outstanding. He went 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA. Still in his early 30s, the next three years had a chance to be just as amazing if not better.

Injuries took their toll on Martinez. He made 23 starts in 2006 and only five more in 2007. His performance was on the decline. In 2008, Martinez gave the club a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts.

Clearly not the same star he was in the past, it looked like the Mets weren’t going to get the most out of this signing.

I debated where Martinez belonged on this list. His numbers, at their best, were worthy of going ahead of Colon. Overall, at 32-23 with a 3.88 ERA, he was as solid as many other free agents the team picked up over the years.

The asterisk Martinez gets relates to how much time he missed. Had he managed to stay healthy, he may have crept into the top three free agent starting pitching signings made by the Mets.

Instead, he sits at number four with the question of “what if?”

FLUSHING, NY – MARCH 31: Pitcher Tom Glavine #47 of the New York Mets throws against the Chicago Cubs on opening day at Shea Stadium on March 31, 2003 in Flushing, New York. The Cubs won 15-2. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

3) Tom Glavine

Unlike the Colon deal, the one the Mets signed with longtime foe Tom Glavine didn’t seem to work out the way many had hoped. After years of watching Glavine battle the Mets as a member of the Atlanta Braves, he turned heel on the Georgia Ted Turners and came to the Big Apple beginning in 2003.

Glavine, like many of the players on this list, had already aged and spent a long time in Major League Baseball. His best days were in the past. Luckily for the Mets, it wasn’t all completely tragic moving forward.

Originally signed to a four-year deal, Glavine would stick with the Mets for five total seasons. He would make 164 starts for them and turn in a 3.97 ERA.

Glavine’s time with the club included two All-Star selections and three straight years in the middle of his five seasons with an ERA below 4.00. He wasn’t the Hall of Fame pitcher he was in Atlanta. Glavine still managed to give the Mets some good years.

When we look back at Glavine’s time with the Mets, the taste is quite bitter. That’s because his final start with the team sealed the deal on the club collapsing at the end of the 2007 season.

The time Glavine spent with the Mets shouldn’t be defined by that one bad loss. That’s how sports work, though. When fans think of him, it’s the way 2007 ended that comes to mind first.

Something we don’t remember enough is how well Glavine performed in the 2006 postseason for the Mets. He pitched six shutout innings in the NLDS and went 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in a pair of starts in the NLCS. It wasn’t his fault the club failed to go further in their one postseason trip with him on the roster. Sadly, it’s how you finish that matters most.

13 Jun 1997: Pitcher Rick Reed of the New York Mets throws a pitch during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York. The Red Sox won the game 8-4. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport /

2) Rick Reed

Rick Reed’s MLB career doesn’t compare to what Colon, Martinez, or Glavine did. All three of them won a Cy Young. Two are in the Hall of Fame and there’s a chance we see Colon get at least a few votes.

What makes Reed the second best free agent signing in Mets history is what he did with the team. His numbers trump what those three 200+ game-winners did.

Before the 1997 season, Reed was a journeyman pitcher whose career looked like it was coming to an end. He didn’t pitch in the big leagues at all in 1996. He managed to make the Mets roster in 1997 and impress everyone with a career-year in New York.

Reed finished his first year with the Mets with a 13-9 record and 2.89 ERA. For an encore, Reed went 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA in 1998. His performance even earned him an All-Star selection.

Not always perfect, Reed’s overall Mets numbers are still quite awesome. He has a record of 59-36. This gives him a .621 winning percentage—the second-highest in team history.

In addition to the winning, Reed managed to keep runs off the scoreboard. His 3.66 ERA in 888.2 innings is unexpectedly great to see from a guy that joined the organization as a minor league free agent.

Even when not considering the fact that he came to the orange and blue as a minor league free agent, I think Reed’s number two spot on this list is well-deserved. He is one of the best pitchers the team had in the 1990s.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 24: R.A. Dickey #43 of the New York Mets pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 24, 2010 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim Luzzi/Getty Images) /

1) R.A. Dickey

Similar to Reed, our top entry is a guy nobody really knew much about when he joined the Mets. Already in his mid-30s when signed, R.A. Dickey was a knuckleballer about to embark on the best years of his major league career when many are planning retirement.

Dickey signed with the Mets before the 2010 season after spending a professional career spanning more than a decade. All Dickey did in his first year with the team was go 11-9 with a 2.84 ERA. This was just a preview of what would come soon after.

Dickey continued to pitch well for the Mets. He went 8-13 with a 3.28 ERA in 2011. In 2012, he did the unthinkable and won a Cy Young at 37-years-old.

Scripts like this only come out of Hollywood. An unconventional pitcher, with an even more unusual path to the league’s best pitcher, Dickey was on top of the world in 2012. He went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA all while pitching for a team that wasn’t all too great. It didn’t matter for Dickey. He was dominating the league. His 233.2 innings, five complete games, three shutouts, and 230 strikeouts all led the league.

Dickey was famously traded the very next winter in a blockbuster deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The trade brought them Noah Syndergaard, one of their best pitchers acquired via trade. Although controversial, it helped the Mets transition their rotation quickly and reload as Dickey gave the Blue Jays a few productive years.

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Free agency in MLB dates back to the late 1970s. In that time, the Mets’ best free agent pickups for starting pitchers were a fine mix of former stars and guys about to have career years.

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