A final grade for the Trevor May free agent signing

Trevor May signed with the New York Mets prior to the 2021 season as one of the first of the “major” additions. A late-inning reliever doesn’t quite classify as a blockbuster deal. Nonetheless, he brought some great energy and had the potential to improve the bullpen.

May was signed to a two-year deal with a salary of $7.75 million each season. It’s over now and time to look back. What grade does the May signing deserve?

The Mets free agent signing of Trevor May get a C

We can divide the two seasons May spent with the Mets if we must. The 2021 season gets a B and the most recent campaign probably gets a D. May missed a lot of time, only logging 25 innings in 2022. His ERA jumped from a solid enough 3.59 in 2021 to a far less attractive 5.04 in the most recent season.

The C grade for the May free agent signing is easier to see when we look at his totals over the two years. May finished 9-3 with a 4.00 ERA. More average than anything, he had a 100 ERA+ which is the definition of averageness.

May never did quite reach the level of trust the Mets were hoping he would. Even in his far more productive 2021 campaign, he was far from bulletproof. The Mets used him regularly as a seventh or eighth inning man regularly as they planned from the start.

Extended time on the IL in 2022 dragged the results of this signing even more. He had only a single appearance in his namesake month, May, and didn’t return to the field until August 3. It was a mostly forgotten season and one that saw him shift slightly down the depth chart. There wasn’t quite enough time for May to get into Buck Showalter’s good graces. By the time he did return later in the year, the bullpen was set with Adam Ottavino in the eighth and Edwin Diaz in the ninth.

May was a fun and interactive member of the organization for two seasons. The performance wasn’t quite what we were hoping for. We can blame injuries for most of it.

Because there was no bargain in the free agent deal, it does look a little worse. A solid C is all this free agent addition will get.