A former New York Mets hurler has found a new home on the other side of the country.
Free agent pitcher Stephen Nogosek has signed a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks," WooSox beat writer Andrew Parker tweeted Friday. "Nogosek became a free agent after turning down an outright minor league assignment by the New York Mets earlier this week."
Nogosek posted a 5.61 ERA with a 25-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .280 batting average against and 1.64 WHIP in 25 2/3 innings for the Mets this season.
It's rare for a player of his caliber to refuse a demotion back to Triple-A. He either wanted a fresh start elsewhere or was under a fairly asinine idea in thinking he deserved to stick in the big leagues and would find another suiter.
Regardless of his thought process, he did in fact end up in Triple-A and will have a chance to retool his approach and potentially help the surging Diamondbacks down the line.
Arizona came out of nowhere this season to capture a three-game lead in the National League West with a highly impressive 42-28 record. If Nogosek can find something and make his way back to the majors with them, he'll be in the heat of a playoff run.
The Mets however, will have to scratch and claw their way back into contention after a disappointing start to the season.
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