Seth Lugo never needed any validation from baseball about what he was capable of doing on a mound. The right-hander always knew he could take the ball every five days and get outs.
But when he became a free agent over the winter, other teams showed considerable interest in him as a starter. It reaffirmed that his decision to leave the Mets to seek a job as a starting pitcher was the right one.
“I was surprised that all of the phone calls were about starting,” the right-hander told the Daily News Tuesday at Citi Field. “It wasn’t until the night before I signed with the Padres that I had a team call about relief. That was really cool. I didn’t expect it to go that way but it did early on, so it really kept me focused on what I had to do in the offseason.”
Lugo signed a two-year, $15 million contract with San Diego right before Christmas, effectively ending his tenure with the Mets. There are no hard feelings on either side as Lugo returned to New York for the first time this week as a member of another team. Its been strange for him to be in the other dugout, but everyone who made him feel welcome as a member of the Mets has made him feel equally as welcome as a member of the Padres.
The club even honored him with a tribute video ahead of the first game of the series on Monday. For a guy who was drafted in a round that has long since ceased to exist out of a small college in Louisiana, it was a surprising — yet meaningful — moment.
“I never thought at the big league level that I’d have something like that happen for me,” Lugo said. “So that was really cool. It was special.”
Lugo was drafted out of Centenary College as a relative unknown in the 34th round in 2011. His ability to spin the ball helped him climb through the minor leagues and the Mets called him up for the stretch run in the summer of 2016.
Injuries opened the door for Lugo to start in 2017, but the Mets never really saw him as a starter. He had value as a reliever with his ability to get left-handers out and pitch in high-leverage situations, and he embraced the role despite never really accepting it.
Lugo was never shy about his desire to be a starting pitcher from April-November. He found it difficult to make spot starts in 2018, having not fully built up to being able to throw 100 pitches. He made 275 appearances for the Mets but only 38 were starts. The writing was on the wall for him after the Mets were knocked out by the Padres last fall. He tested free agency and found what he wanted.
“It’s cool for multiple teams to be in on you. It was just the Mets when I got drafted,” he said. “But I knew what I was capable of and I knew what I needed to work on. I understand how my stuff plays and it was nice for a team to see that.”
All changes have been positive. He and his wife, Amanda, and two young kids are enjoying living by the beach in San Diego and he’s 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA through two starts in 2023. He isn’t lined up to face the Mets this week, but he’s been joking with friends from his former team that he did them a favor by beating the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
It’s a full circle moment for Lugo being back in New York.
“I got drafted at 21,” he said. “Here I am at 33 with a couple of kids in the other dugout.”
VERLANDER NEARING RETURN
The Mets still aren’t ready to announce a debut date for Justin Verlander, but he’s expected go to Florida to continue his rehab when the Mets depart for a three-city California swing Thursday. The Mets aren’t planning on having Verlander join the team in California, but that could change.
Verlander has been able to play catch while sidelined with a teres major strain in his right shoulder and manager Buck Showalter said the tentative plan is for him to throw a few side sessions and one bullpen before making a rehab start, something Verlander himself said he didn’t want to do but would if the club asked him to.
“We’ll see where we are,” Showalter said. “But we’re not there yet.”
EXTRA BAGS
Right-hander Tommy Hunter (back spasms) threw live batting practice at Citi Field on Tuesday. The Mets also made a move for pitching depth earlier in the day, claiming right-hander Seth Elledge from the Atlanta Braves and transferring right-hander Sam Coonrod (lat strain) to the 60-day injured list. Elledge was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
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