Goodbye, Rick, it was nice knowing you.
So the New York Mets made a huge move on Thursday when they went out and signed the one and only Rick Porcello. It's truly an incredible move. Some people don't like it because he is coming off a bad year. Others love it because they assume he is going to have a crazy bounce back year (because he won the American League Cy Young Award a few years back). Truthfully though, I have no idea how it will work out for them.
The guy posted an ERA over 5.00 last year -- and that was really frustrating to watch. But at the same time, he is one of those guys who consistently eats up innings and is pretty durable (with the exception of the first year he was on the Red Sox roster and missed a few outings). But you know what? When it comes to starting pitchers health is huge because when guys get hurt, that's how you end up with two-inning starts from Hector Velazquez, Ryan Weber and Brian Johnson -- which is exactly what a team wants to avoid if they are trying to win the division.
It is kind of nice that the Red Sox won't be paying Rick Porcello his massive over $20 million a year contract anymore. There's no doubt about that. Part of me though also worries about what they will do to replace him in the rotation. It shouldn't be that hard to find someone who can post an ERA below 5.000, but we'll see. We'll see if Chaim Bloom is willing to shell out the big money for that kind of a guy. No idea if he'll do it. The Tampa Bay Rays mentality might not allow for it.
Anyways, thanks Rick for 2018. Pretty good stuff, in my opinion.