Of all the Mets with expiring contracts, Jerry Blevins is probably the most likely to stay — simply because it might take a microscope to determine his trade value.
The struggling reliever’s brutal season took a turn further south Thursday night when the left-hander entered a one-run game against the Nationals in the seventh inning and promptly transformed it into a three-run game.
Bryce Harper easily cleared the right-field fence against Blevins for a two-run homer, and the Mets never fully recovered in a 5-4 loss at Citi Field.
“I understand I am here to get lefties out and every pitch I am trying to make it perfect,” Blevins said. “It’s clearly not happening.”
Blevins, sporting a 4.70 ERA, is finishing a two-year contract worth $12.5 million. He is still owed roughly $3 million, making it unlikely he would be anything more than a salary dump — with a zero return — if the Mets were to find an interested team. Even if the Mets were to eat a chunk of Blevins’ remaining salary, the return in a trade likely would be marginal.
Steven Matz kept the Mets in the game by allowing three earned runs over 6 ¹/₃ innings before Tim Peterson entered and surrendered a single to Anthony Rendon. Manager Mickey Callaway then summoned Blevins — against whom lefties were 14-for-44 (.318) — and watched Harper unload for his 23rd homer of the season. The blast put Mets in a 5-2 hole.
Callaway made a controversial move against the Phillies on Monday by summoning Blevins before pinch-hitter Odubel Herrera — a lefty batter — had been announced. Blevins instead faced a right-handed hitter, Jesmuel Valentin, and recorded the out. Callaway later said the move was intentional because he wanted to catch the Phillies off balance and also liked Blevins against the right-handed Valentin — righties are 5-for-34 (.147) against him this season.
“His curveball probably hasn’t been the same as it has in the past and that is why you see the struggles against lefties,” Callaway said. “He just hasn’t had the ability as much this year. How effective he’s been against righties, he’s been unbelievable, they never get hits off of him.”
Max Scherzer (12-5), who is expected to start the All-Star Game for the National League on Tuesday in his home ballpark — despite his inferior numbers to Jacob deGrom’s — wasn’t particularly sharp, allowing home runs to Jose Bautista and Kevin Plawecki, but received enough support for the victory.
The Nationals’ ace allowed three earned runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings and increased his ERA to 2.41. DeGrom pitched eight scoreless innings a night earlier to lower his major league-leading ERA to 1.68.
Plawecki and Asdrubal Cabrera homered to get the Mets within 5-4, but the Nationals (47-46) received the necessary outs from their bullpen.
Matz (4-7) had escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth by retiring Trea Turner for the third out. Scherzer had reached on an infield single — on which Bautista double-clutched at third base — following walks to Daniel Murphy and Matt Wieters.
“I felt they had a pretty good approach on me, they were putting a lot of balls in play,” Matz said. “It was a scuffle out there.”
Bautista’s homer leading off the fourth pulled the Mets within 3-2. The blast was Bautista’s fifth in 46 games since joining the Mets.
Rendon’s second homer of the game gave the Nationals a 3-1 lead in the third. Rendon also hit a two-run homer in the first, after Juan Soto had singled against Matz.
“[Rendon] just ambushed me on that first pitch there,” Matz said. “Normally I don’t see him as a guy who is overly aggressive early, especially since he hasn’t seen me. I just have to tip my cap to him: I left a curveball up the second time and he crushed it.”