Mets agree to two-year, $10-million deal with reliever Justin Wilson, source says
Justin Wilson, here with the Cubs in 2018, has only 14 career saves but has been used mostly in middle relief. Credit: AP/Gary Landers
The Mets on Friday agreed to terms with former Yankees lefthanded reliever Justin Wilson on a two-year, $10-million contract, a baseball source confirmed. The Mets did not announce the deal, which is pending a physical.
Wilson, 31, will become the top lefthander in a bullpen headed by closer Edwin Diaz, setup man Jeurys Familia and middle men Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman, all of whom are righthanded.
Wilson went 4-5 with a 3.46 ERA in 71 games for the Cubs last season. He struck out 69 in 54 2/3 innings but had control problems, walking 33.
Wilson spent 2015 with the Yankees and went 5-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 74 games before being traded to the Tigers for Chad Green and Luis Cessa.
Wilson had a career-high 13 saves for the Tigers in 2016. In his career, he has 14 saves, 109 holds and 19 blown saves for a save/hold conversion percentage of .866. But he won’t be used as a closer by the Mets.
If the Mets plan to carry more than one lefthanded reliever, they can look at seven-year veteran Luis Avilan, who will be in spring training on a minor-league contract. They also have Stony Brook product Daniel Zamora, who pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 16 big-league appearances (nine innings) last season.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
