When the Mets acquired Joey Lucchesi in January, it was as part of a three-team trade that also involved the Padres and Pirates. It was a shrewd low-risk/high reward move, since in the deal the Mets only gave up prospect Endy Rodriguez and got back major-league quality depth for the rotation.
The twenty-eight-year old southpaw never put up eye-popping numbers with the Padres and was optioned to the alternate site for much of the 2020 season after getting off to a lackluster start in San Diego. Before the season, the Mets were in need of rotation help since Noah Syndergaard would not ready for Opening Day, and with very little quality pitching in the upper minors, Lucchesi and his intriguing “churve” seemed like the type of move the Mets should be making.