:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44174344/455273026.0.jpg)
Jake Peavy seems to have found a knack for being at the right place at the right time. Dealt to an eventual World Series winner mid-season for the second straight year, the 33-year-old turned in a solid, if unspectacular 2014 split between the World Champion Giants and Red Sox. Finishing off the second and final year of a two-year, $29 million deal signed prior to 2013, Peavy's season turned around for the better after his trade to San Francisco in late July.
The right-hander sported a 4.71 ERA in 21 starts with Boston before helping the Giants in their playoff push. Although Peavy pitched well, his 1.98 ERA down the stretch included a large dose of good fortune as both his FIP (3.04) and xFIP (4.01) highlight. Much of that can be explained by his HR/FB%, which dropped from 12.2% in the tough American League East down to 3.4% following his trade to the West Coast. It all added up to an fWAR of 1.9, his lowest mark in a full year of pitching since 2003.
Healthy enough to reach the 30-start plateau for only the second time in the last eight seasons, Peavy doesn't possess the ability to blow away hitters as he did in his early days with the Padres. The 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner has seen his average fastball velocity drop to a career-worst 89.9 mph, according to PITCHf/x. Not surprisingly, Peavy struck out just 7.02 per nine innings and 18.5% of all batters faced, both career lows though hardly embarrassing. One potential red flag for Peavy's suitors were his struggles during the postseason. After firing 5.2 scoreless innings against the Nationals in the NLDS, Peavy surrendered 11 runs and 16 hits in his ensuing three starts, including two forgettable outings in the World Series.
Nothing mentioned above, good or bad, will impact the Mets. While Peavy won't be signing a long-term deal this offseason he is certainly an attractive rotation piece for a club looking to round out its rotation. New York, however, is not in the market for a veteran starter or really any starter for that matter. A dearth of starting pitching isn't a problem in Queens where the Mets currently enjoy a surplus all teams covet. Simply put, there's no room for Peavy in Flushing.