3) Brandon Waddell
Roki Sasaki fever will end for all but one team soon. Grabbing an international player of his caliber can alter a team’s future. It’s essentially being awarded an already developed young player for nothing more than cash.
Much different is the story of Brandon Waddell. A 30-year-old left-handed pitcher with a dozen games of MLB experience, he has spent the last few seasons overseas with some noteworthy success. In three seasons pitching in the KBO, Waddell made 43 starts and came away with a 23-10 record and 2.98 ERA. A great walk rate, a fine number of strikeouts, and the ability to prevent home runs, he has the potential to be one of the more important depth pieces on the Mets roster this coming season.
Waddell should start off as starting pitching depth for the Mets although I wouldn’t write-off the idea of using him in relief. He was successful there when he last pitched in organization ball in North America back in 2022 in Triple-A for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Mets are fully aware they’ll need more than whatever their planned six-man rotation will be to start the season. Someone will get hurt. Another will underperform. A rainout will happen and they’re going to need a spot start. Waddell’s success in Korea and China for a dozen starts in 2023 is no guarantee to translate well back in Triple-A or MLB. After seeing how well Erick Fedde did in 2024, we should be open to the idea of Waddell at least being useful.