Mike Pelfrey Might Not Be Ridiculous

I mean, no more ridiculous than Mike Pelfrey always is.

Photo by Michael Baron

This from ESPNNY's Adam Rubin in November:

The Mets need to bring in two starting pitchers, including a fifth-starter type that has a low base salary...

So what about a reunion with Mike Pelfrey, who was popular in the Mets clubhouse with teammates during his first stint with the club? Well, a team official did not rule it out, but offered no indication anything was active on that front now. 

"I know he is on a long list of guys just like him," a team insider told ESPNNewYork.com. 

This would be a pretty serious buy-low bet for the Mets, with Pelfrey only a season removed from Tommy John surgery with one terrible stat line in the middle. 5-13 with an ERA north of 5 in his 2013 campaign, Pelfrey may not have been as bad as those numbers reflect. In his 29 starts, he allowed only 13 home runs, a low number relative to his worst years with the Mets, and posted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of very nearly two to one. Even with his many short and stunted starts, he threw over 150 innings last season, and with the Mets budget woes, he would certainly fall under affordable. The only thing consistent about Pelfrey through his career has been his inconsistency; coming off a similar season in 2009 with an ERA over 5.00 again, he posted a 15 win season and a respectable 3.66 ERA. He's done it before, and for cheap enough, I wouldn't mind seeing him try to do it again.

It would be a reclamation project for sure, but that is a Sandy Alderson specialty. I think Dan Warthen, who coached Pelfrey from 2008 to his departure, could help him rediscover himself in Queens.