Padres Giving Seth Lugo A Chance To Start

Seth Lugo has a deal with the San Diego Padres. The former New York Mets reliever will get a chance to start.

Seth Lugo and the Padres are in agreement, according to multiple reports. San Diego will give the former Mets reliever a chance to start, per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

Lugo is getting a two-year deal worth a little more than $15 million, as well as an opt-out after the 2023 season, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. The pact also comes with performance bonuses for starting and relieving, per Heyman.

It’s been known since the beginning of the offseason that a few teams were looking at Lugo as a starter, and multiple reports had the Dodgers in the mix. The 33-year-old has pitched exclusively out of the Mets’ bullpen over the last two seasons and has not started a game since 2020.

Lugo recorded a 3.56 ERA over 111.1 innings while tallying 10.0 K/9 over the last two years.

A career Met up until now, Lugo had mixed results during his stints in New York’s rotation. The seven-year pro owns a 4.35 ERA with a 1.336 WHIP over 194.2 career innings as a starting pitcher. Those numbers are noticeably better over Lugo’s 300 relief frames. He has a 2.91 ERA, 1.053 WHIP and 10.0 K/9 when working out of the pen.

Lugo pitched poorly as a starter the last time he got a shot, recording a 6.15 ERA over seven tries in 2020. However, he posted a 3.91 ERA over five starts in 2018.

Lugo made a career-high 18 starts in 2017, when he tallied a 4.76 ERA. He had a 2.68 mark over five starts during his rookie year in 2016.

While Lugo’s splits say he’s better off in San Diego’s bullpen, his repertoire includes multiple offerings that could boost his rotation chances if developed further. Lugo has been a fastball-curveball-heavy reliever, but he has a sinker, slider and changeup to work with as well.

With Lugo on board, the Padres’ starting options also include Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Nick Martinez, among others.