Ongoing NY Mets minor league experiment with veteran free agent is going as expected

When the New York Mets sign a veteran major leaguer to a minor league deal, all of us have the same thought: the next Jose Iglesias?

It’s an impossible to reach standard. Iglesias was lightning in a bottle. The timing of his call-up, mix of teammates, and performance was an outlier no one ever realistically expects from any other minor league signing. This shouldn’t stop the Mets from adding depth or even getting creative. They did two with one of their quieter offseason additions, Carl Edwards. Jr.

A longtime major league reliever, he’s not here to provide the Mets with a standard middle relief effort. The Mets are planning to stretch him out in the minor leagues as a starter. Through three chances, the results are pretty much what you’d expect.

Carl Edwards Jr. has been a mix of everything in the minors as a starter

4 innings and 5 runs (2 earned), 5 innings and 1 run, and 3 innings with 4 earned runs is the basic recap of what has happened thus far. The strikeout numbers in those starts are 3-5-3. The walks are at 3-2-3 

The last two outings have included the majority of runs coming toward the end of his outing. Start number one included all 5 runs charged in the first inning. He settled in after that for a good enough debut without allowing another run across.

Batters are hitting .250/.365/.386 against him. Reaching 65-71 pitches in those outings, he has shown an ability to start games at a passable level. It’s the results that aren’t so promising.

Realistically, the Mets couldn’t have possibly ever believed Edwards would have a significant role in their rotation. He’s a spot starter they’d ask to survive 3 or 4 frames during a surprise doubleheader. The length he is getting stretched out for may also provide them with a longman option as the season progresses. If Sean Manaea cannot escape the bullpen, a piggyback of those two doesn’t seem too difficult to envision.

Edwards has only 6 innings in the majors post-2023. He has never started a game with 300 relief appearances under his belt and a 3.56 ERA. He has some rather underrated strikeout totals at 10.5 K/9. His 4.8 BB/9 steal some of the thunder.

It’s not fair to look at what Edwards has done in the past to actually understand what he can contribute to the Mets this year. They were willing to take a chance on Craig Kimbrel, a gamble they’ve now called upon to assist in the majors. Edwards is a far greater longshot to make the team at any point. Abandoning this plan to turn him into a starter shouldn’t be something the Mets inch toward until they come to the conclusion he can be of use in relief, not as a starter. The goal is likely to just build up his arm for innings.

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