ARLINGTON, Texas — Rather than feeling resentful about where he was, Seth Lugo seems content to be where he is.
The Royals right-hander has finally earned his place in the starting rotation and played every game leading up to Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
To reach the top of baseball, he had to come from the depths of the Mets relief corps, where he spent most of his six major league seasons in Queens as a relief pitcher.
Lugo said he has trained himself as a starting pitcher every offseason during his time with the Mets.
He was given an opportunity early in his career, starting as a swingman in 2016 and posting a 4.71 ERA in 18 starts in 2017.
He won the final rotation spot in 2018 over Zack Wheeler, but Wheeler performed well in his first start at Triple-A that season and was quickly promoted, pushing Lugo back into relief.
At the time, the Mets’ starting lineup, led by Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Wheeler, needed their bullpen to do more than their starting rotation.
Lugo was limited to a multi-inning relief role, and while he often thrived in that role, he was rarely happy.
“It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, I can start, put me in the rotation,'” Lugo said Monday at Globe Life Field. “I just understood the guys that were ahead of me in the rotation.”
“But I would say, ‘I’m always ready whenever you need me.’
Lugo did so well as a relief pitcher (he had a 3.48 ERA over his seven-year career with the Mets) that it prevented him from making the switch to the role he wanted.
The Mets felt they needed Lugo too much as a reliever to continue trying him out as a starter.
From afar, Lugo proved his former team’s predictions wrong.
Starting pitcher Lugo was an All-Star who had started a major league-high 20 games with a 2.48 ERA, and was capable of being a starter in the AL.
Now that Lugo, 34, has become a star in the job he always wanted, he has reason to feel resentful toward those who denied him that job over the years.
He could use his newfound All-Star status to call out the doubters.
Instead, he used his newfound All-Star status as a reason to make some calls to his former pitching coaches, who had doubts.
Lugo spoke by phone with Dan Worthen (Mets pitching coach, 2008-17) and Dave Eyland (2018-19) about a week ago.
“I reached out to them and said, ‘Thank you so much for everything,'” Lugo said. “I learned a lot from them and now I’ve been selected to the all-star team.”
The Mets have always known that Lugo can throw a curveball better than any pitcher in baseball.
But the 34th round pick in 2011 came with much lower expectations, a slower overall velocity and was more effective as a relief pitcher.
Lugo continued to believe in his ability as a starting pitcher for longer than the Mets did.
As a first-time free agent, he signed a prove-it-all, one-year contract with the Padres and proved it last season with a 3.57 ERA in 26 starts.
He’s risen to stardom this season, landing a spot on the Monday morning breakfast show with Pete Alonso.
“I’m really happy for him and his family,” Alonso said, adding that he “absolutely” knew Lugo could be a starter. “He acts like a starter and he’s always had a starter’s mentality.”
“He always throws a different pitch. He’s always reading the swing. He’s very analytical when he goes at hitters. He’s not always just trying to throw a pitch that’s going to beat them.”
Lugo throws eight different pitches, giving him a deep repertoire that allows him to be effective late in games.
He can often use his curveball as the first pitch in the lineup and then rely on sliders and slurves to keep hitters from getting too comfortable.
He said he’s evolved since his time with the Mets but still feels like he’s the same pitcher, “just with more experience.”
The pitcher is a starter and a star pitcher.
“There’s no animosity,” Lugo said of the Mets. “We understand how the game works.”
