Mets Select Joey Lucchesi – MLB Trade Rumors

The Mets chose left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi between games in today's double-header. He is the starter for the Twin Bill's second game against Atlanta as a left-handed hitter Alex Young Option for a corresponding active roster change. Tim Britton of The Athletic was one of those who broke the news on X. The Mets switched to a right-handed hitter Christian Scott to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post on X.

The Mets and Atlanta effectively entered today's doubleheader in a three-way tie with the Diamondbacks. Each of the two clubs playing today only needed to win one game to secure a place in the playoffs. The Mets won a thriller in the first game and emerged victorious 8-7. They had planned to start Luis Severino in the second game, when they still needed to win but instead held him off for tomorrow's Wild Card round.

Instead, the 31-year-old Lucchesi will get the ball. The left-hander has been with the Mets since January 2021 and came from the Padres as part of the three-team mega trade that sent him Joe Musgrove to San Diego, David Bednar to Pittsburgh and more. The southpaw required Tommy John surgery this summer, which caused him to miss most of 2022. Since then he has largely been used as an optional right winger.

So far this year, his big league finish has consisted of just one starting spot. He pitched 4 1/3 innings against the Phillies on May 15, allowing five earned runs. After that stint, he was sent back to the minors and later designated for use when the Mets acquired him Phil Maton in July.

Lucchesi cleared waivers and was sent straight to Triple-A Syracuse. As a player with more than three years of service, he could have rejected this assignment in favor of free agency. However, because he has less than five years of service under his belt, moving to the open market would have meant forgoing the remainder of his $1.65 million salary.

Of course, he accepted this assignment immediately and has his place in the squad back today. The Mets probably plan to only use Lucchesi for this one game since they have Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, David Peterson And Tylor Megill as starting options for the postseason.

If Lucchesi stays on the 40 team through the winter, he could be retained via arbitration for 2025. However, he will be out of options next year and therefore less attractive to the club when it comes to a top option, which is likely to make him a candidate to be left out of the squad at some point. He has a 4.70 earned run average in 115 Triple-A innings this year.

As for Scott, he recently underwent hybrid Tommy John surgery and an internal brace, meaning he will miss the rest of this year and likely all of 2025 as well. He will spend most of his time on the 60-day IL, although there is no injured list in the offseason, so he will need to secure a spot on the roster for at least a few months.