Drew Gagnon

New York Mets: Drew Gagnon Year in Review

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Drew Gagnon was a frequent member of the shuttle ride between Syracuse and the New York Mets during the 2019 season. His season started on a good track but quickly fell off the rails as his ERA ballooned towards double digits.

Gagnon’s first appearance of the season came in mop-up fashion during a 14-3 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies. He threw 5.1 innings to save the Mets from wasting arms after Steven Matz failed to get out of the first inning. After he returned to a usual bullpen role, but his past as a starting pitcher allowed the Mets to extend him during some outings.

Bullpen Success and Failure

With his excellent change-up, Gagnon seemed to settle into a role pitching out of the bullpen. In his next 11 outings, he had a 3.09 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched. Gagnon went five days without being used and could not find the same success he had prior. His next three outings resulted in allowing eight runs and a demotion to Syracuse on June 18.

One of the memorable parts of his season was clearing the benches when he drilled Ian Desmond in June after allowing two home runs to the Rockies. No one traded punches, but the intent of the beaning was clear.

The rest of Gagnon’s season ended with two appearances in August and one in September. One of the August outings resulted in the Atlanta Braves obliterating him for four home runs. He finished the year with an 8.37 ERA and leaving the Mets to play for the KIA Tigers in the Korean Baseball Association.

Grades:

Pitching Repertoire: C-, His fastball sat in the low 90s, but his change-up was his best pitch.

Control: A-, Walks were never something to worry about with Gagnon. 2.7 BB/9.

Composure: F, Hitters teed off on him in clutch situations and fell victim to multiple homer outings.

Intangibles: D

Overall: F, An abysmal season for Gagnon, it started with a lot of potential then ended in failure. Hopefully, the trip to Korea will revitalize his career.

New York Mets: Drew Gagnon DFA’d

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The New York Mets made a handful of roster moves over the last couple of days to bolster their 40-man roster. The most notable move was designating Drew Gagnon for assignment to make room for some of their young prospects. The move created space for four prospects to avoid the rule-5 draft in December.

Rumors said Gagnon was working out a deal to play in Korea, but there was no truth to that. There was never even a discussion with the KBO for a contract. Gagnon started strong in 2019, with a 3.21 ERA in his first 14 innings pitched. The following 9.2 innings, over four months, were brutal, he allowed ten home runs and had a 15.83 ERA.

The Mets have a week to decide if they want to trade him, place him on release waivers or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

Who Are the Saved Prospects?

The Mets added Shortstop Andres Gimenez, pitcher Jordan Humphreys, catcher Ali Sanchez, and pitcher Thomas Szapucki to the 40-man roster. They are saved from potentially being taken in the rule-5 draft and it allows the Mets to call them up in 2020.

Gimenez is the most promising of the four prospects. At 20-years old, he slashed .250/.309/.387, which is not anything amazing, but his game elevated in the Arizona Fall League. He slashed .371/.413/.586 with two home runs and 15 RBIs. His .999 OPS was the highest of anyone in the AFL. Amed Rosario has emerged as a quality shortstop, which gives the Mets time to develop Gimenez instead of rushing him to the big leagues.

Other Mets who will be eligible for selection are pitcher Corey Taylor, first Base/catcher Patrick Mazeika and outfielder Desmond Lindsay.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Drew Gagnon

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The 27-year old, career minor leaguer looks to make an impact on the 2018 New York Mets roster. Gagnon was signed as a free agent by the Mets in December 2017 after the Los Angeles Angels released him a month earlier.

Need To Know: Gagnon

Originally a starter, Gagnon had an ERA over eight in 2011 which was his first professional season at rookie ball in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system.

In 2012, he showed promise at A/A+ with a 2.83 ERA in 149.2 innings which earned him the #23 spot on the Brewers prospect list and an all-star selection.

Gagnon regressed in 2013 with a 7-13 record with a 5.43 ERA between A+ and AA ball, but still pitched 129.1 innings. Gagnon continued his inconsistent seasons with a 3.96 ERA in 154.2 innings at the AA level leading to another all-star selection. 2015 was his worst season in the minors where he posted an ERA of 6.67 and could not find a way to keep the opposing team off base whether he was in AA or AAA.

Gagnon was converted to a reliever going into the 2016 season and at age 26 his time with the Brewers was running out. In a make or break year for him he posted a 4.48 ERA between AA and AAA along with seeing his strikeout numbers increase. After the season the Brewers shipped him along with catcher Martin Maldonado to the Angels for catcher Jett Bandy.

His lone season in AAA was an unsuccessful one in which he had a 6.25 ERA, 1.5 WHIP and the organization had him start a few games as well. This led to his release in November and eventual signing by the Mets.

Going into his age-28 season, there is no more time to wait on Gagnon to develop. He had a scoreless inning to start his Spring Training but will need to be almost untouchable to make the opening day roster. The Mets have a pitcher in Anthony Swarzak who took longer than expected to be a good reliever and the team is hoping to strike gold with Gagnon.