Mets news you may have missed: Contracts, meltdowns, and old Heroes

If history is any guide, being a Mets fan hasn’t always been easy to digest for some. But it is exceptionally trying when players – whether homegrown or acquired elsewhere – seem to hit their stride only after their departure from Flushing.

In their first starts of the season, former Mets pitchers Zach Wheeler and Steven Matz looked dominant in their 2021 debuts.

What a game Zack Wheeler is having against the Braves this afternoon. He's thrown six one-hit innings with eight strikeouts, and is 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI hits.

Wheeler feels like a sneaky NL Cy Young dark horse. The Mets will avoid him in their opening series.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 3, 2021

Fittingly, the Mets had to experience Wheeler’s growing pains while his new team is reaping all the benefits after inking him to a 5-year, $118 million deal prior to the start of last season.

As one of the crown-jewels plucked from the San Francisco Giants farm system as part of the 2011 Carlos Beltran trade, Wheeler rose through the Mets ranks to make his debut in 2013 before adjusting to the majors, undergoing Tommy John surgery, and finding his form.

On April 3, he threw 7.0 innings, allowing 1 hit, no runs, and striking out 10 batters. Let it be known that Wheeler is just another casualty of the frugal ownership of the past.

Steven Matz was on point in his Blue Jays debut:

6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K.

He departs with a 1.42 ERA and a 6-1 lead over the Rangers.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 5, 2021

Even Matz – recently traded by the Mets in the offseason – impressed during his Toronto Blue Jays debut, lasting 6.1 IP while giving up a hit, 1 run, a walk and striking out 9.

Meanwhile, after his last two injury-plagued seasons, INF Jed Lowrie made his return to the baseball field as a member of the Oakland Athletics. In his first week back, Lowrie eclipsed his 2-year Mets totals, during which time he played in only 9 games with 7 at bats on a two-year, $20 million contract.

This season he’s already played in 7 games while scoring 3 runs, 5 hits, an RBI, and four walks, eclipsing the benchmark he set as a Met with a walk, 4 strike outs, and a .000 BA.

The most notable news, however, came out of Baltimore where former Mets ace, SP Matt Harvey made headlines by earning a spot on a Major League staff as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. So far, he has 9.2 IP, 13 H, 6 ER,2 BB, and 9 strikeouts. He even hit 95mph in his second outing.

The Mets traded Harvey to the Cincinnati Reds in 2018 and after three years of working through the farm systems of the Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, and now Baltimore, he is back in the majors. Even more surprisingly, the former ‘Dark Knight’ struck out ex-Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki during his start against the Boston Red Sox.

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