15 worst free agent signings in Mets history

11) NY Mets worst free agent signing: Rick Porcello

It lasted only one season and it was the shortest season in the history of the team. Rick Porcello agreed to a one-year contract with the Mets for the 2020 campaign. A $10 million contract after his lengthy deal with the Boston Red Sox was meant to give the former Cy Young winner a chance to rebuild his free agent stock.

Unfortunately, Porcello somehow managed to raise his ERA from the previous year with Boston. Porcello had gone 14-12 but with a 5.52 ERA in his last year with the Red Sox. Times had been tough on him ever since winning the 2016 Cy Young award.

In his one year with the Mets, Porcello would go 1-7 with a 5.64 ERA. The signing went so poorly that Porcello hasn’t pitched another professional game since even though he would have been just 32 the following year.

The stint with the Mets started off poorly with two losses in games where the Atlanta Braves scored double-digit runs. Lost and almost forgotten in the year when the pandemic began, the Porcello deal was one of the worst for the Mets. It may even more terrible because he was able to stay on the field and see his ERA rise and winning percentage fall.

By contrast to Michael Wacha and Dellin Betances—two other pitchers the team brought in that same offseason—at least Porcello was healthy. Wacha and Betances were bad deals for less money, though. Each also had a lot more potential than the clearly declining Porcello.