Michael Wacha was once one of the most promising young pitches in the game. In 2013, he pitched the Cardinals to the World Series, winning NLCS MVP. Through his first dozen starts in 2014, Wacha put up a 2.78 FIP, 2.45 ERA, and a 1.8 WAR that was among the top 15 pitchers in the game. Shortly thereafter, Wacha was diagnosed with a scapular stress injury that would ruin the rest of 2014, leaving him an innings eater the following three seasons, and something less than that over the last two years. Wacha hit free agency for the first time having barely held on to a rotation spot for most of the season and having failed to make the Cardinals postseason roster. The Mets, seeking depth in a rotation that already includes Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, and Steven Matz, opted for a low-risk deal to position Wacha to close out the rotation with a one-year, $3 million contract that, with incentives, could bring the total to $10 million, as first reported by Joel Sherman.

Wacha still has his signature changeup, but his fastball rarely missed bats and he allowed 16 homers on the pitch last season. His strikeout rate dipped below 20%, and he might have been hurt by the rise in home runs last year. While Busch Stadium is a home run suppressor, Wacha gave up a ton of long balls both at home and on the road, though his road numbers were particularly brutal, with a 6.17 FIP. An indication that he probably wasn’t fully healthy, Wacha’s velocity moved all over the place throughout the season. Mike Shildt did say that Wacha was healthy as the season ended, but that he didn’t make the postseason roster due to a lack of need for an extra starter.

Towards the end of the year we were cautious about, you know, his health. He had a little feeling in Arizona, and went out and just made sure he was okay. Maybe to help clarify if there are any lingering doubts, I’m sure people do their homework in this game, but Michael was eligible from a medical standpoint to pitch for us in the playoffs.

That was a decision ultimately our staff in the front office made, and it was reflective of the fact that we just didn’t need an extra starter. We felt good about our bullpen pieces. A lot of people put that fourth, fifth starter in the bullpen.

We didn’t feel like we had to based on the strength of our bullpen. Michael Wacha was healthy and able to pitch. I can’t say enough about Michael. Love to have him back. I understand what the math looks like. Doesn’t work in his favor likely for us. But this is a guy that has real value on and off the field, and is a winning guy.

For now, Wacha probably has an edge on the fifth starter spot in New York, which allows Seth Lugo to stay in the bullpen, where he excelled in 2019. It’s possible Wacha just can’t quite stay healthy over the course of a season and the Mets will end up still looking for a starter. And he might also end up as a better option out of the bullpen if the rigors of starting prove to be too much. This is a low risk signing for the Mets, allowing both the team and Wacha to dream a bit about recovering some of his prior stuff, while putting together a bounce-back season.