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On Wednesday, the Mets called up veteran right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka from Triple-A Las Vegas. In a related move, they outrighted left-hander John Lannan to the minors. Lannan now has 72 hours to decide whether to report to Las Vegas or opt for free agency.
For the time being, Matsuzaka will work as a reliever. It's quite possible, however, that he could pitch his way into the somewhat thin Met rotation. To date, he's made only one career relief appearance.
Matsuzaka, age 33, posted a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings for Vegas. Last season, he pitched to an ERA+ of 81 in seven starts (38 2/3 innings) for the Mets. For his career, he owns an ERA+ of 100 across parts of seven major-league seasons. In 2008, he finished fourth in the AL Cy Young balloting as a member of the Red Sox.
