NY Mets Monday Morning GM: It sure seems like Mike Vasil isn't coming back

Mike Vasil is caught up in this weird web he won’t be able to escape unless he comes back to the New York Mets. It wasn’t long ago many viewed him as a potential member of the team’s starter rotation. Despite being an 8th round pick without great college numbers, Vasil managed to adjust well to pro-ball. He finished 2022 with a 3.53 ERA and seemed headed toward becoming a relevant member of the farm system.

Fans who believed highly in Vasil might’ve jumped the gun. He was good again in 2023 at the Double-A level but as soon as he got to Triple-A things took a turn. In 207 innings with Syracuse spread across two seasons, Vasil was 12-14 with a horrific 5.78 ERA. Last season was especially inexcusably poor. Numbers included a 6.04 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and a dip in strikeouts down to 7.3 per 9.

It was a common issue for many Mets starting pitchers in 2024. Dom Hamel pitched poorly. Even Brandon Sproat struggled. Unfortunately for fans of Vasil, he was claimed in December’s Rule 5 Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. Little did he realize a sponsorship with U-Haul would have made sense. He was immediately traded to the Tampa Bay Rays where he went 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA in 10.2 innings. Tampa Bay had an upcoming choice to make about offering him back to the Mets or keeping him on the 26-man roster. They didn’t get to pick either as Vasil was claimed on waivers by the lowly Chicago White Sox where the same rules apply.

Mike Vasil seems far more likely to stick on the White Sox now that he has entered the basement

The White Sox are in no rush to escape the seventh circle. After a putrid season in 2024 that continues to plague the nostrils of their fans, they did very little this offseason to improve themselves. Picking up Vasil on waivers can be considered a wise addition to make on their behalf. What do they have to lose? 121 games all over again? So be it.

Vasil, 25, might not necessarily slot in as a starter for Chicago. Working as a reliever, possibly a long man, seems like a logical way to use him. The White Sox have a projected bullpen and even a rotation with multiple optional players. Fellow Rule 5 Draft pick Shane Smith could get the first run in the rotation. A successful spring performance, he was the first player taken in the Rule 5 Draft. The White Sox are attempting to build a competitive roster in a very roundabout way by taking fliers on prospects others deemed unworthy of protecting on the 40-man roster. We can appreciate the thinking even if many of those plans will backfire greatly.

Now with his fourth organization in as many months, Vasil has a real opportunity to play for a team that has nothing but patience. As irrelevant as the White Sox are to most of us, we do wish him well, but just don’t turn into anything great. We lost him for nothing and that’s going to be frustrating if someone builds a statue in his honor.