An awesome NY Mets free agent steal with a 5.97 ERA pitcher

On November 15, 2012, the New York Mets decided a pitcher with a career 5.97 ERA was worth their time. Well, whoever made that choice, whether it was coming as a directive straight from the front office or a scout who saw something more, I hope someone got a raise.

After pitching in Triple-A for about half of the season, the Mets called Carlos Torres up to the majors. He’d take on a swingman role, starting 9 games and appearing in another 24 games as a reliever. 

A former 15th round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, Torres had already been released by the White Sox and spent a year in Japan. He got clobbered with the Colorado Rockies in 2012. For some reason, things worked out pretty well with the Mets.

Carlos Torres was a successful free agent steal by the Mets we’d remember more if the team was any good

Torres pitched to a 3.44 ERA in 2013 over the course of 86.1 innings. He returned in 2014 and was even better. Just one start and another 72 games in relief (this was before the three-batter minimum rule and the Terry Collins era), Torres managed to go 8-6 with a 3.06 ERA. He logged 97 innings and struck out 96 batters. For that period of time, the strikeouts were above average.

Unfortunately, Torres’ timing as one of the more trustworthy bullpen pieces hit a wall in 2015. His 4.68 ERA had him sliding down the depth chart. To his credit, before his final appearance in August, it sat more than a full run better at 3.66.

Torres wasn’t lucky enough to appear in any Mets playoff games that year. A bullpen replenished at the trade deadline, he was tossed aside and became a free agent after the year.

Later signed by the Atlanta Braves, he was a late spring cut who ended up signed by the Milwaukee Brewers, then led by David Stearns. One final brilliant stand to give, he had a 2.73 ERA in year one in Milwaukee.

Second to only Jeurys Familia in innings pitched by a Mets reliever in 2015, running into some bad luck, especially late in the year, was enough to convince the Mets to move on. A 3.53 FIP tells us he was a full run better than reality.

Torres is one of those more forgotten Mets players for two reasons. One is they had an even more impressive minor league signing around the time, Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey. Alex Torres with his unique headwear and shared last name with Carlos Torres blends the memory even with one throwing right-handed (Carlos) and the other as a lefty (Alex).

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