The New York Mets acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Matt Seelinger from the Detroit Tigers on Monday for cash considerations, a quiet minor league trade that became a feel-good story almost immediately because of who Seelinger is and where he is from.
Seelinger, 31, grew up in Westbury, New York on Long Island. He is going home. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 28th round in 2017 and has spent nine minor league seasons bouncing through the Pirates, Rays, Giants, Phillies and Tigers organizations without ever appearing in a major league game.
He has a career minor league ERA of 3.33 and a strikeout rate of 12.0 per nine innings, the numbers of a reliever who can get outs, if given the chance.
His Triple-A season for Toledo has been solid: a 3.89 ERA, 49 strikeouts in 39 and a third innings and 27 appearances.
He throws a four-seamer that averages 92 miles per hour, a cutter and a low-80s knuckle curve that hitters are batting just .138 against this season.
The specific moment that made people notice him came during a World Baseball Classic exhibition in March, when he struck out Mets outfielder Juan Soto swinging on a 94 mph four-seamer, the kind of pitch that makes a scout write something in a notebook.
Now he is in the Mets' system. He has still never appeared in a big league game. He is 31 years old and playing in New York for the first time in his professional career.