A point of pride for Mets right-hander Dom Hamel has always been his durability as a starting pitcher. Since his first full professional season in 2022, he’s thrown no fewer than 119 innings, and threw 124 or more in Double-A and Triple-A in each of his last two seasons. So when the Mets came to the 26-year-old farmhand earlier this season with the idea to have him work out of the bullpen, he was admittedly “bitter.”
The Mets sold him on a clearer path to the big leagues as a reliever. The big league rotation was — and still is — full, and he was blocked by top pitching prospects Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean.
“I’ve thrown at least like, 115-120 innings the last four years of my career, and felt good handling that workload, so I was a little bitter at first just because I know I can handle that type of workload,” Hamel said Monday at Citi Field. “I believe in myself to do it at the next level, but there are really good guys up here, really good starters and relievers. One of the things we talked about with the front office is that there might be more opportunity in this kind of role.”
Hamel got his opportunity Monday when the Mets called him to make his big league debut against the Cleveland Guardians. Needing to replace right-hander Austin Warren, who pitched four innings Sunday afternoon, the Mets decided it was finally time to call up Hamel.
“He understood and kept working and put himself in a position where there was a need for the big league club,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “His name came up, and here he is.”
The Mets need length out of the righty, something he should be able to provide since he’s stretched out to throw about 20-30 pitches. Hamel has made 22 appearances this season, eight starts, going 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA. As a starter, he has a 4.76 ERA, a 4.70 ERA as a reliever.
With a starter’s repertoire, he has a fastball with average velocity, but he’s been able to add a few ticks since going into the bullpen, another selling point from the Mets.
“[They Mets said] there could be upside,” Hamel said. “[They said], ‘You’re used to throwing a lot of innings in a year, it could make you fresh and you could tick up in velos.’ So I was just all eyes and ears.”
Hamel also throws a slider that plays more like a sweeper with spin, and a changeup to get hitters to chase. There is a curveball in the mix, but it’s not a pitch he uses as often as he once did. Still, the Mets don’t have anyone in the bullpen who throws one other than new addition Ryan Helsley, so it could bring a different look.
For now, he’s just keeping it simple and trying to throw strikes.
“I think the biggest adjustment, which has kind of helped in my favor, is when you come out of the bullpen, you come in and you give them what you got,” Hamel said. “You’ve got to limit damage, stop bleeding, whatever situation it is. So a lot more of a mentality of just being in the zone, instead of thinking of preserving pitches to get through a lineup a second or third time.
“So it’s really kind of just brought me back to a lot more simplistic mindset.”
The Arizona native was drafted out of Dallas Baptist University in 2021, only 11 days after his mother, Lisa Perez, passed away. Hamel was able to represent her at the World Baseball Classic in 2023, pitching for Puerto Rico. Following her death, he started his pro career in Florida, close enough to see his father, Jason Hamel, often, and other family members as well.
He’s extremely close to his grandparents in Chandler, Arizona, who were among the first people he called after receiving word from Syracuse pitching coach A.J. Sager that he was getting his first call-up, as well as former teammates, coaches, friends and his girlfriend.
“I guess the biggest emotion I was feeling was gratitude,” he said. “So many people have been a part of this journey with me, and it’s been really cool.”
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