Mets Sign Shaun Marcum To One-Year Deal

Sandy Alderson wasn't kidding when he said the Mets might yet add players to the major league roster this winter; the team has signed 31-year-old right-handed pitcher Shaun Marcum, formerly of the Brewers, to fill out its starting rotation. Jon Heyman reported the signing and says it's a one-year contract.

It's hard to imagine a deal in which the Mets would greatly overpay for any player right now, which would make this an excellent signing. Marcum has posted a 3.70 ERA or better in each of the past four seasons, and his career 7.32 strikeouts per nine and 2.77 walks per nine are good rates. He's a flyball pitcher, but the risk of allowing home runs should drop a bit as he moves to Citi Field for approximately half of his starts.

The knock on Marcum has always been durability, but he has still averaged 28 starts per season over the last three years, one of which he spent with the Toronto Blue Jays. His addition partially mitigates the short-term loss of R.A. Dickey, and Marcum was easily the most desirable of the free-agent starting pitchers remaining on the market.