Porcello, Mets finalize a $10M, one-year contract
NEW YORK >> Rick Porcello’s $10 million deal with the New York Mets shows the fruits of free agency as much as Gerrit Cole’s $324 million contract across town with the Yankees.
While Cole set a record, location was among Porcello’s primary concerns.
“I live about an hour away from Citi Field,” he said Monday after the Mets announced his contract. “That opportunity of having the hometown comfort, the ability for my father and family and friends to be able to come and see these games in person and be get to experience it a little bit more live, were pretty deciding factors for me.”
Porcello lives in Morristown, New Jersey, and was at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange when Detroit selected him with the 27th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft. He was traded to Boston after the 2014 season and was guaranteed $95 million by the Red Sox over the next five seasons. He won the
AL Cy Young Award with a
22-4 record in 2016 and was
17-7 in 2018, when he earned a World Series ring.
“This is a big deal for me,” he said. “I grew up a lifelong Mets fan as a kid, and now to get the opportunity to play for the organization that I cheered on for so many years is a huge honor.”
New York was the first team to contact Porcello during free agency and former Mets pitcher Al Leiter, now a New York baseball operations adviser, helped recruit him. Porcello remembered going to a game when Mike Piazza went deep.
“Watching him in person be able to hit a home run at Shea Stadium was a huge thrill for me,” Porcello recalled, adding the 2000 NL pennant and Subway Series against the Yankees was another thrill.
“Just kind of being a fan along for that ride was absolutely incredible experience,’”he said.
A right-hander who turns 31 on Dec. 27, Porcello joins a rotation that includes Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard
plus fellow New Yorkarea natives Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz, who grew up on Long Island.
Brewers, reliever Lindblom agree on 3-year deal
MILWAUKEE >> Josh Lindblom’s journey to the Milwaukee Brewers included a detour or two through South Korea.
“I haven’t taken the most direct route to sitting here,” Lindblom said Monday after the Brewers finalized a threeyear contract for $9,125,000.
A 32-year-old righthander, Lindbloom was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 2008 amateur draft, he made six starts and 108 relief appearances from 2011-14 for the Dodgers, Phillies, Texas and Oakland.
He signed with South Korea’s Lotte Giants ahead of the 2015 season, returned to the major leagues with Pittsburgh and had four relief outings in 2017, then signed with South Korea’s Doosan Bears.