Dillon Gee Has Earned His $3.6 Million Deal

This past week's Mets news was filled with a list of players the Mets were able to avoid salary arbitration with, Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada, Bobby Parnell, and Daniel Murphy among them. Almost overlooked in the list of those receiving a little bit of a pay-day was Dillon Gee. Netting himself a $3.625 million deal, Gee earned his raise as much as anyone else on the list (and far more than Ike and Tejada).

Earning a shade over a half million dollars for each of his last two seasons, he has been a steady arm in the back end of the Mets rotation. In 2012, a season shortened by surgery needed to clear up a blood clot in his arm, he pitched to a 6-7 record with an ERA just over 4, numbers better than anticipated. In his 17 starts, he had thrown for 109 innings, doing a terrific job of getting into the late part of the games and not burning out the bullpen. He made serious progress this past season, nailing down a record of 12-11 on another awful Mets team. His ERA dipped to 3.62 and in 32 starts, he pitched 199 innings. Not quite an innings eater, but reaching the seventh inning consistently and not forcing the pen into four innings of work was a terrific boost for the team this past year.

I'm happy Gee got paid, to an extent, and think he'll be an important part of the rotation this season. In the near future, given the return of Harvey and the expected promotions of the likes of Montero and Syndergaard, it's likely his days in Queens are numbered. It's going to become a simple game of numbers, and he'll eventually be squeezed out. He's not destined to make any All-Star games or win any Cy Youngs, but he'll find a home on another team, doing what he does: pitch effectively and consistently. There is always room for that in the majors.

Also, remember his goatee? That was all kinds of awesome.

Photo by Michael Baron
Goatee by Dillon Gee

That thing is glorious.