The fact the San Diego Padres missed the postseason with a +104 run differential and so many excellent players is mind-blowing.
That differential only helped them achieve an 82-80 record, not good enough to make the postseason.
However, they had incredible individual players such as Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Ha-Seong Kim, Fernando Tatis, Josh Hader, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell.
You can go ahead and add Seth Lugo to that list.
He might not be as good as Snell or as flashy as Darvish, but Lugo had a phenomenal performance in his transition from the bullpen and became an excellent starter.
Now, he has made it clear that he intends to cash in on his marvelous season by becoming a free agent.
“Seth Lugo has declined his player option and will test free agency, per @AriA1exander,” Talkin’ Baseball tweeted.
Seth Lugo has declined his player option and will test free agency, per @AriA1exander pic.twitter.com/cLhrqqNEA0
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 3, 2023
He had a player option worth $7.5 million for the 2024 campaign, but opted to reject it and test the market.
With good starting pitchers always in demand, the soon-to-be-34 year old stands to make much, much more than that and over a much larger period of time.
In 2023, Lugo was able to make 26 starts and pitch 146.1 innings.
He allowed 140 hits and 58 earned runs, with a solid 140/36 SO/BB ratio, a 3.57 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP.
He won’t be mistaken for an ace, but as we saw in the postseason, teams needed as many quality starters as possible to avoid sending a lackluster hurler to the mound in a high-leverage game.
Lugo, without a doubt, will get paid handsomely.
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