Failure to Launch

[Edgy MD]

Can anybody recall a precendent for the Jed Lowrie situation: a guy brought on a big league contract, but not debuting for months after that (assuming there will be a debut)?



The closest Met precedent I can come up with is Scott Erickson. He wasn't brought in on a big league deal, but he made the opening day roster. He was scheduled to start Game Two, and can even be said to have debuted (to an extent) in that he was in the lineup card handed to the ump.



But his actual launch date was July 19 — 92 days into the 2004 Mets season. Do you think Lowrie can beat that?

[G-Fafif]

Kelvim Escobar, https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=47724382010 reliever in eternal absentia.

Former Los Angeles Angels right-hander Kelvim Escobar has agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Mets. Escobar's deal is worth a guaranteed $1.25 million, a baseball source tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Escobar, who has missed most of the past two seasons with a shoulder injury, must pass a physical exam for the deal to become official. He recently received the go-ahead to pitch winter ball in his native Venezuela from Dr. David Altchek, the Mets' team medical director -- who happens to be the surgeon who repaired Escobar's torn labrum in July 2008. If Escobar is healthy and makes the Mets' roster, he's most likely headed for the bullpen. He could become a set-up man for former Angels teammate Francisco Rodriguez. "With Escobar, we are looking at him as a reliever," Mets GM Omar Minaya said, according to the New York Daily News. The contract includes $2 million in potential bonuses based on games pitched, and an additional $1 million for games finished, along with more potential bonuses for awards. Escobar would also earn a $125,000 bonus for making the Mets' Opening Day roster. In 2007, his most recent full season, Escobar went 18-7 with a 3.40 ERA. He missed all of 2008 after shoulder surgery and pitched only five innings last season before another setback shut him down again. He became a free agent after the Angels did not offer him salary arbitration. Escobar came up through the Toronto Blue Jays system as a reliever and saved 38 games for the Blue Jays in 2002 before being converted to a starter. In 411 career appearances, including 202 starts, Escobar is 101-91 with 59 saves and a 4.15 ERA.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Guest

[G-Fafif]

Ronny Paulino (2011), Shaun Marcum (2013) and Jason Vargas 2.0 (2018) each got late starts after signing, but not Lowriesque and certainly not Escobarian.



https://mobile.twitter.com/AnthonyDiComo/status/13336611483https://mobile.twitter.com/AnthonyDiComo/status/13336611483

[whippoorwill]

Edgy MD wrote: Can anybody recall a precendent for the Jed Lowrie situation: a guy brought on a big league contract, but not debuting for months after that (assuming there will be a debut)? The closest Met precedent I can come up with is Scott Erickson. He wasn't brought in on a big league deal, but he made the opening day roster. He was scheduled to start Game Two, and can even be said to have debuted (to an extent) in that he was in the lineup card handed to the ump. But his actual launch date was July 19 — 92 days into the 2004 Mets season. Do you think Lowrie can beat that?

Why didn't he launch? (Erickson)

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

He had a foot or ankle issue warming up just prior to the start.

[bmfc1]

Damn, this isn't a thread about rom-coms with Matthew McConaughey?

[Edgy MD]

Same concept, I think.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

What gets me about Lowry is that we didn;t even need the guys, except as a means of indirectly getting rid of Frazier. And the Mets of course wouldn't dare. Were Lowry here we'd all be watching McNeil hit 400 at Syracuse

[Edgy MD]

Or watching Dom Smith slug .600 at Syracuse.



Or watching Pete Alonso slug .700 at Syracuse.

[Lefty Specialist]

If Lowrie were here, they'd still be 34-38.