Former Philadelphia Phillies' reliever Antonio Bastardo has agreed to a deal with the division rival New York Mets, according to Jon Heyman.
Antonio bastardo has an agreement with mets
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 21, 2016
Robert Murray of Baseball Essential, who has been on top of Bastardo's free-agency, says that the deal will be a two-year/$12 million deal.
Bastardo's deal is for two-years, $12 million. No options.
— Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayBBE) January 21, 2016
The Phillies traded Bastardo to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2014 winter meetings, on the same day that they agreed in principle to deal Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his one season with the Pirates, he posted a 2.98 ERA in 66 appearances.
Murray says the the Pirates did attempt to re-sign Bastardo.
The #Pirates were involved in the bidding for Antonio Bastardo. They offered two-years, $8 million, according to league sources.
— Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayBBE) January 21, 2016
Bastardo was inconsistent in parts of six seasons with the team. He came up as a starting pitcher in 2009, but served as a reliever for every season after. He posted a 2.64 ERA in 2011 and a 2.32 ERA in 2013. The problem is that those two years were mixed in with three below-average seasons, including 2012, when he struggled with control and posted a 4.33 ERA. It is worth noting that statistics such as FIP do suggest that he wasn't the luckiest pitcher in terms of the fielding behind him in some of his leaner seasons.
UPDATE 1/22: Here are the exact details of the deal, courtesy of Jon Heyman.
Bastardo (mets): 250K signing bonus, 5.25M in '16, 6.5M in '17. 12M guarantee
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 22, 2016
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
