Mets Sign Jorge López to 1-Year Deal

A hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, López primarily throws a sinker and a curveball, but also throws a four-seam fastball, slider, and changeup. His sinker has excellent velocity, averaging just under 97 miles per hour to rank in the 90th percentile of fastball velocity on Baseball Savant.

López originally began his career as a starting pitcher, but after struggling in that role from 2017 to the first half of 2021, he was converted to a reliever and saw initial success before enduring a rough 2023 campaign.

López pitched for three different teams over the past two seasons, and was named to the American League All-Star team in 2022 with the Baltimore Orioles. He would finish the season with a 2.54 ERA, a 1.183 WHIP, and 23 saves; he had a 1.68 ERA and 19 saves with the Orioles before being traded to the Minnesota Twins at the deadline.

However, López struggled in the second half of 2022 and throughout 2023. After recording a 4.37 ERA with Minnesota in 23 appearances in 2022, his ERA ballooned to 5.09 over 37 appearances in the first half of 2023. This led to him being traded to the Miami Marlins at the deadline, but after posting a 9.26 ERA in 12 appearances, he returned to the Orioles after being claimed off waivers. In the end, López finished 2023 with a 5.95 ERA and a 1.508 WHIP, both of which were significant regressions from 2022.

Nonetheless, the Mets are taking a flier on the 30-year-old Puerto Rican right-hander, as they desire to bring him back to the excellence he showed in the 2022 first half. López will join fellow Puerto Rico native Edwin Díaz in the bullpen, as well as new acquisitions Austin Adams and Michael Tonkin.