Port St. Lucy – What's the difference in a year for Reed Garrett?
In training last spring, he had to compete for a spot in the Metz bullpen. He pitched only 44¹/₃ innings and owned a career 7.11 ERA for three seasons in MLB.
He was designated for assignment by the Orioles and then signed with the Mets in June of that year, where he recorded a 5.82 ERA, before making nine appearances for the Mets in 2023.
However, Garrett enjoyed his breakout season in 2024, scoring a 3.77 ERA on 53 outings, emerging as manager Carlos Mendoza's reliable slow arm.
He isn't fighting a spot on the roster this time – he is counted on as an important piece.
“You obviously don't want anything obvious, but last year was a big year,” Garrett posted on Sunday. “I've learned a lot, I've thrown a lot of high-leverage situations and stuff like that. It plays a role and I think the biggest thing for me this year is that I've been in the same place for a while. [for two consecutive seasons] For spring training. That's great because you have a friendly sense of familiarity with those people, know who everyone is, meet a lot of new people, and don't have to share your teammates again. ”
What inspired him to enjoy the best season of his career last year?
“I think it all started in 2023 at the end of the season,” Garrett said. “I threw the ball really well at the end of that season. I think it gave me the confidence to enter the last offseason to build it up. I had the opportunity at the beginning of last season and I took advantage of it. It was to have that confidence, to know that I was here, to be around and to know the people who were taking advantage of the opportunities I had.”
Work safety allowed Garrett, 32, to experiment more this spring, especially with fastballs.
He pitched the pitch to 16.5% last year.
The opposite batters average .400 against the pitch, much higher than any other pitch.
Perhaps improving on the pitch will help you take Garrett to another level.
“That's something I wanted to work on,” Garrett said. “Obviously, we're not perfect pitchers, we're not finished products. We're all trying our best to balance as much as possible. It might work, I thought it was an ongoing job.”
