December 11, 2013 13-14 Offseason Joe Janish

Jeremy Hefner Returns To Mets

According to Adam Rubin at ESPN-NY, the Mets will bring back Jeremy Hefner on a minor-league contract, essentially paying him while he rehabs from Tommy John surgery under their watchful eyes. I think this is a good, low-risk move to retain someone who should have value as a back-end / depth starter and long reliever. Your thoughts?

Joe Janish

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.

jerseymet December 11, 2013 at 10:27 am

Good signing. I wonder if there was a gentleman’s agreement in place prior to his being non tendered. Last night on Mets Hot Stove, Omar Quintanilla was mentioned as a shortstop possibility. I look for him to be resigned on a minor league contract also.
jgills December 11, 2013 at 11:17 am

Heffner was pitching well in June and early July. I see this as a pretty good move. Certainly, at age 27, another team would pick him up purely on speculation of what he can become. So, its smart baseball to pay him peanuts to stay in the organization.
crozier December 11, 2013 at 11:19 am

Seems like they’re betting he’d turned a corner during his fantastic stretch in June. Obviously I’d like to think so to, and hope he returns to that form, or a semblance of it.

The actual odds of that? Perhaps not great, but worth the small investment.
argonbunnies December 11, 2013 at 7:24 pm

A zero-risk move, I don’t see how it can be criticized.

I wonder if Hefner wanted to stay with the Mets, or if he just couldn’t find another taker? His response to being non-tendered was characterized as “not exactly thrilled”, which might indicate the latter.

As for his pitching, who knows whether the mechanical change that added velocity and deception also shredded his elbow, and which of those things will return? In his time with the Mets, he flashed plus control, movement, and slider break, but rarely at the same time. I don’t have high hopes, but he’s an easy guy to root for, so fingers crossed.
Jack Str December 15, 2013 at 3:09 am

Yup, perfectly sound move. I don’t have the numbers for the league right now but Hefner could easily be a very solid #5 starter for most teams.

Of course, that’s a guy who you’d love to be able to go six innings, but you can’t have everything at the back end.

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