Tommy Hunter is arguably a Mets Legend.
Tommy Hunter, in his 476th career game, gets his first big league hit.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) May 18, 2021
pic.twitter.com/VsgfyXH1Gb
I’ve come around the Universal DH, but memories like that warm my National League heart.
The 36-year old righty was drafted by the Rays back in 2005, made his debut in 2008 and has traveled all over. He’s played for the Rangers, Orioles, Cubs, Guardians, Orioles )again), Rays, Phillies and for the last two seasons, the New York Mets. Hunter was mostly used as a starting pitcher until 2013. The Orioles made a massive shift and used him out of the bullpen for 68 games (still his career high) over 86 1/3 innings. From 2013 on Hunter has pitched in 396 games making only one start with a 3.14 ERA, 3.46 FIP and a 1.110 WHIP. When healthy, he can pitch over 60 times in a year, but he has only done that four times since 2013, the most recent time being in 2018.
His time with the Mets has been memorable. In 2021 he pitched eight scoreless innings for the Mets and got his first major league hit during a stretch when the Mets were really falling apart health wise but still somehow winning ballgames. He then got traded for Rich Hill and then resigned with the Mets the next season. Last year he pitched 22 1/3 innings over 18 outings with a 2.42 ERA, 1.209 WHIP, 4.28 FIP and a 162 ERA+.
We know what we are getting with Tommy Hunter. He’s a veteran reliever who has been in the game for a while. The question for the Mets – is there space for Hunter? The question for Hunter – is he willing to go to Syracuse in April if he doesn’t break with the team in spring?
Hunter is clearly in a position battle for the bullpen. My gut says that if he stays with the Mets, he ends up on the 40-man roster at some point and sees at least as much playing time as he did last year. If he has a tremendous spring, or if there’s an injury, we’ll see him sooner than later.
