NY Mets stuff 4.95 ERA journeyman into the depth chart stocking before Christmas

Christmas Eve isn’t a day off for Major League Baseball transactions. The New York Mets, in their infinite quest to never go more than 24 hours without adding someone to their organizational depth chart, brought in another player, Mike Baumann.

In 167.1 innings in the majors, Baumann has come away with a 4.95 ERA. The 30-year-old righty spent last year in Japan, doing very little to improve his stock. A 4.20 ERA in Japan’s major league equivalent with 7.2 BB/9 but 11.4 K/9 rate, it appears the Mets are trying to bring in another fastball-heavy pitcher who relies on throwing hard. His fastball was in the 87th percentile back in 2024 when he last pitched in MLB. It didn’t do him much good. Hitters batted .308 against it.

Mike Baumann is a Four-A player the Mets are hoping they can get more from

Baumann’s MLB numbers resulting in nearly a 5.00 ERA is unimpressive. In Triple-A, he has actually been pretty good with a 3.29 ERA in 93 career innings.

One of several signed to a minor league deal this offseason, this is yet another depth piece the team will try to turn into much more. After last year’s success with Rico Garcia, a far less experienced pitcher when he signed with the Mets, we should have some hope that one of these signings eventually works out even if it’s just for a dozen innings.

The Mets depth chart is currently overflowing with pitchers who’d presumably pitch in Triple-A next year. Many, however, are not legitimate prospects but more in the same category as Baumann. There’ll be bodies who get cut loose before the season begins with Baumann being one of those who’ll only get a handful of opportunities to pitch this spring to differentiate himself from pitchers like Carl Edwards Jr., Nick Burdi, and Daniel Duarte.

There is a history of Baumann actually being able to deliver in a large sample. In 2023 with the Baltimore Orioles, he tossed 64.2 innings and had a 3.76 ERA while earning 10 wins in relief. This is the kind of performance the Mets would love to get, but aren’t planning for.