Mets sign veteran reliever, former Giants first-round pick

Crick was taken directly out of high school, using the compensatory pick the Giants received when Juan Uribe signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2010 championship season.

The young righty racked up a ton of strikeouts in the low minors, quickly rising up the ranks of Giants prospects. In 2013, Baseball America called Crick the Giants' top prospect, and he pitched in the All-Star Futures Game. Before the 2014 season, Baseball America ranked him the 33rd-best prospect in the minor leagues.

Crick stalled in the upper minors as he was unable to corral his erratic command. After spending three years at Double-A, the Giants shifted Crick to a bullpen role and he reached the majors in 2017. He appeared in 30 games as a rookie, recording a 3.06 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 17 walks in 32.1 innings pitched. Crick has never started a major league game.

After that solid-if-erratic rookie season, the Giants dealt Crick, along with future All-Star Bryan Reynolds to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Andrew McCutchen. Eight months later, the Giants flipped McCutchen to the New York Yankees for Juan De Paula and Abiatal Avelino in what may not have been the Giants' finest series of deals.

In his first full big-league season, Crick was one of the Pirates best relievers, posting a 2.39 ERA in 60.1 innings. However, his struggles with control returned the following season. Crick walked 35 hitters in 49 innings in 2019 before suffering a season-ending broken finger in a clubhouse fight with then-closer Felipe Vasquez.

Crick missed most of the 2020 season with shoulder and back injuries. Pittsburgh released Crick in July of 2021, and he spent the rest of the year with the White Sox's triple-A team.

In 2022, Crick signed another minor-league deal with the Chicago White Sox and appeared in 14 big-league games before he was designated for assignment and outrighted back to the minors. While he recorded a passable 4.02 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 15.2 innings, he surrendered 11 walks.

Last year, Crick signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, but opted out in March and didn't pitch professionally aside from three appearances in the Dominican Winter League.

Crick still has a slider with a great deal of movement, but he will need to control it better for a permanent role in the Mets bullpen. But given New York's struggles to build a consistent pitching staff, there should be a wide-open opportunity for the veteran to find another consistent role.