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3 former Mets that are dominating with their new teams
An offseason filled with spending left the New York Mets with the highest payroll in baseball along with a whole lot of new faces. Steve Cohen made his mark with the team, spending lavishly on revamping the pitching staff and bringing in some veterans to fill positions of need in the lineup.
The Mets obviously couldn't afford to bring everybody back however, and as a result some fan favorites found themselves in different uniforms for 2023. Some of these players have gotten off to rough starts with their new teams, but others have found some quick success as well. While its far too early to deem if letting these players walk was a mistake or not, fans might be wishing we held onto some of these players given their hot starts.
Former Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is showing flashes of his former Cy Young self with the Texas Rangers
Mets fans around were heartbroken when Jacob deGrom bolted for Texas this past offseason, as the formerly lifelong Met seemed destined to retire in blue and orange. He was arguably the best pitcher in baseball when healthy, but that was rarely the case as his last years in Queens were plagued with injuries.
So far with Texas, deGrom is turning back the clock. Through five starts, he has an insane 43 strikeouts across 26.2 innings. Outside of his Opening Day disaster, he has a 1.57 ERA and has been virtually untouchable across most of his appearances.
However, the risk of injury will always be there for deGrom. Rangers fans got the full "deGrom experience" against the Kansas City Royals, where he pitched four no hit innings before promptly leaving with wrist soreness that had Ranger fans panicking.
A generational talent with horrific injury luck, peak deGrom was undoubtedly the best pitcher to don the Met uninform this century. With how he is performing currently with Texas, Mets fans might be wishing we held onto him, especially considering Justin Verlander has yet to make a start. However, you have to remember that the Rangers gave him a five year deal, and assuming his injuries take over in later years, the jury will be out for a while on if the Mets made the right decision or not.
Former Mets outfielder Travis Jankowski is having his career resurgence with the Texas Rangers
Raise your hand if you had a Travis Jankowski breakout campaign on your 2023 MLB bingo card.
Mostly known to Mets fans for his speed, Jankowski has rediscovered his hitting with the Rangers this season. He is hitting a remarkable .325 with a .863 OPS, and has already recorded four more hits than he did with the Mets all of last season. This isn't an issue of small simple size either; he is often starting for the Rangers and has played some stellar defense as well.
The Rangers certainly didn't expect this when they signed Jankowski this offseason. In fact, he was originally going to start the season in Triple-A before an injury kept him on the roster. Since then, he has done nothing but produce and has been a massive part of the Rangers early success.
In all fairness, the Mets didn't have much room for Travis Jankowski. The team is littered with outfielders, meaning that Jankowski would've most likely been relegated to a base stealing job once again. The Mets already filled the pinch runner role with Tim Locastro, but his inability to hit makes him a liability to put in the starting lineup. Mets fans would've loved to have this version of Jankowski on the roster, but there was no way the front office could've seen this coming.
Former Mets reliever Seth Lugo is shining as a starter with the San Diego Padres
After making his debut as a starting pitcher in 2016, Seth Lugo was moved to relief and excelled in that role for the Mets for several seasons. However, everyone involved in the Mets organization knew that Seth Lugo wanted to escape the bullpen. When the Mets filled their rotation without Lugo in it, he signed with the Padres with the impression that he would go back to his starting role.
Through is first four starts, Lugo is showing that he did have what it takes to start games again. With a 2.78 ERA and a 23/6 strikeout to walk ratio, Lugo has been indispensable for the Padres so far.
Even though they went their separate ways, there appears to still be mutual respect between Lugo and the front office. He said that he held no resentment toward the organization, and the Mets put together a tribute video for him when San Diego flew into town earlier in April.
Going into this season, Mets fans would've most likely chosen any of their starting five over Lugo, just like the front office did. However, after the amount of injuries the team has faced, most fans would be thrilled if we managed to hold onto Lugo this offseason. This was never going to be the case sadly, as it was clear Lugo wanted to go to a team that he was assured to have a starting role from the start.
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