It's not Richard Lovelady who should be most nervous about the latest NY Mets signing

Sliced in any way, a 4.06 ERA in 51 major league innings ain’t bad to have on a minor league deal. On Saturday, the New York Mets added Luke Jackson on a minor league deal.

A member of the 2021 Atlanta Braves with a 1.98 ERA that year for our NL East rivals, he hasn’t been close to replicating those numbers. He has bounced around the league a bit, pitching to a 4.19 ERA from 2023-2025.

Jackson’s crowning achievement is how well he has maintained 50% or better ground ball rate. At 50.8% in his career, he fits the model of many Mets free agent signings they’ve made under David Stearns.

Richard Lovelady is the obvious player fans would like him to eventually replace. However, it’s someone else who should be shaking in his cleats at the sight of this addition.

Luke Jackson probably won’t replace Richard Lovelady, Luis Garcia is a different story

A lot of those same good things you could say about Jackson apply to Luis Garcia. Signed for less than $2 million with incentives in his contract, Garcia has been equally as unimpressive as Lovelady. His poor Opening Day performance seemed to have a bit of a ripple effect on the bullpen as it required the Mets to warm up Devin Williams, therefore practically counting as an appearance in the minds of Mets management.

His scoreless inning on Friday versus the San Francisco Giants was a step in the right direction. However, with an early 33.3% ground ball rate for a guy with a career rate over 50%, he isn’t bringing that one tool the Mets thought they could count on most.

It’s very early but Garcia is coming off of a few shaky seasons. He’s a contact pitcher who did well with the non-competitive Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels last year but lasted only 28 games before getting cut by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A similar thing happened with Garcia in 2024. He had a good enough 3.71 ERA with the Angels. Upon getting traded to the Boston Red Sox mid-year, it inflated to 8.22.

Lovelady’s job isn’t secure, but it won’t be Jackson competing for that spot. Jackson will likely be given time to heat up in Syracuse before any consideration arises to call him up. Easily a respectable move by the Mets for added depth, Garcia’s big league results as well as any success Jackson has or doesn't have in the minors will go a long way toward deciding which is the better match.