The Mets, who have been struggling to find a stable bullpen for the vast majority of the season, struck a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays for right handed pitcher Wilmer Font, in exchange for either cash considerations or a player to be named later.
Font bounced around the minor leagues for ten years, getting only various cups of coffee in the majors, before making his first lengthy stint in the bigs with a trio of teams in 2018. He started the season with the Dodgers, then moved to Oakland, though he had major struggles in both places, amassing an ERA over ten on both teams. He was shipped to the Rays, where he found legitimate success, has he had a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings, alternating between a starter (i.e. an opener) and a reliever for them.
This year has not been great for Font, has he comes to the Mets with a 5.79 ERA. He is striking out batters at an excellent clip (30% strikeout rate), and is running a very high BABIP (.371) so there is room for the ERA to drop.
The Mets needed to make a move to help their bullpen, since it has been worked to the bone recently and injuries to Familia and Wilson have thinned it out even more. Font’s ability to start and throw a lot of innings in relief is a nice plus to the front end of the bullpen, as well.