On Wednesday, the Yankees signed right-handed Darren O’Day and the Mets signed the lefty Aaron Loup.
The Yankees gave O’Day a guarantee of $2.45 million on a one-year contract with a 2022 option that can be triggered by the player or team. When the Yankees traded Adam Ottavino to Boston with Frank German for a player to be named later, it really was not for that player to come from the Red Sox. The Yankees saved about $8 million and wanted to diversify how they used that money.
The first use was on O’Day, who like Ottavino has a history of dominating righty batters. In the expansion era (since 1969), 229 pitchers have appeared in at least 500 games as a reliever. O’Day (604 games) has the fifth best OPS against righty hitters in that time at .549 — just behind new teammate Aroldis Chapman at .534.
But durability — like so many other Yankee pitchers for 2021 — will be a concern. O’Day will pitch at 38 next year and has only appeared in 47 games combined the last three seasons (Ottavino pitched in 172 games in the same period, tied for third in the majors).
As for the Mets, in Loup they not only landed a reliever who regenerated his career with the AL champ Rays last year, but one who has not given up a homer to a lefty batter since Corey Dickerson (then of the Rays) on June 13, 2017. He has gone 177 at-bats since vs. lefties without allowing a homer, sixth longest currently in the majors. In the NL East, the Mets will want relievers who can keep the lefty might of Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper and Washington’s Juan Soto in the park late in games. And the Marlins’ top lefty power threat? That is Dickerson.
One other item. It is about that no homers to lefties list. Washington’s Wander Suero at 248 at-bats has the longest current streak, so Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil and Dom Smith can expect to see plenty of him. But No. 2 on the list is a righty, Jacob Barnes, who the Mets actually signed earlier this offseason for $750,000. In 51 games the last two years, Barnes has a 6.75 ERA, but he also has averaged 10 strikeouts per nine innings and lefties have just a .543 OPS against him. Also, when Jerry Blevins last pitched in 2019, lefties had a .540 OPS against him. The Mets signed him to a minor league deal.
You may see a trend here.
