The New York Mets are finally throwing their new-found financial weight around! And it’s … reliever Trevor May!
Mets have signed Trevor May, per source. Deal is pending physical. @AnthonyDiComo first mentioned talks.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 1, 2020
OK, I’m kidding in two ways there. At a superficial level, I’m kidding about that being huge, because a lot of folks probably don’t even think much about Trevor May as a decent free agent, if they think about him at all. But then a step past that, I’m also kidding about the kidding, because, actually, May is one of those sneaky free agent targets that offers a whole lot of upside, even at 31. I bet he got multiple years, and a decent chunk of change. We’ll see when the terms come out.
May is a long-time Twins pitcher who was a hyped prospect who couldn’t stay established in the big leagues as a starter, and then struggled in his first year and a half as a reliever. Thus, even if you were following him as a prospect back then, he probably fell way off your radar.
But since 2018, he’s been a pretty darn good reliever, whose peripherals went next level in 2020, including a bonkers 39.6% strikeout rate and a 7.3% BB rate. He’s very much in the mold of a whole lot of late-breaking-out relievers who’ve gotten significant contracts in free agency in recent years, especially given that the 2020 improvements weren’t just in the results:
Trevor May's pitch usage completely changed last year. He stopped throwing curve and heavily emphasized slider. This is on trend with an analytics-based approach used by MIN, NYY, TB, others — relievers identify, develop and throw a lot of one plus breaking ball.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 1, 2020
I’m not at all surprised that he was one of the earliest targets for one of the few teams that figures to be aggressive with their money. May probably hoped to get a deal done before tomorrow’s non-tender deadline thrust a bunch of additional relievers onto the market, and the Mets were probably sufficiently focused on him, specifically, that they were willing to pay up to make it happen, even at the slight risk that they could’ve done better later on.
Oh, and by the way, the Cubs were never going to pay up for May this offseason if you were hoping. I can say that with confidence even before his contract terms come out. The Cubs will be looking for value bullpen additions, like they have the last couple years (which, hey, has worked out pretty darn well).