Coonrod joins the New York Mets

By Editor | February 22, 2023 |

By Carmen Ensinger

After spending two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, one of Greene County’s claims to fame, Major League Baseball relief pitcher Sam Coonrod will be suiting up in a New York Mets uniform this spring.

According to Coonrod, the Mets obtained him on waivers last week.

“They put me out for trade, but no one picked me up so they let me go and the New York Mets picked me up on waivers,” Coonrod said over the phone Sunday. “I don’t know how I feel about no one picking me up in the trade, but I do know that it feels good to be wanted by a team.”

Coonrod, 30, a 2011 graduate of Carrollton High School, was an all-star pitcher for the Hawks leading his team to a State Championship in his senior year.

He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fifth round of the 2014 draft and worked his way up through the Giants minor league farm system before donning a San Francisco Giant uniform for his first major league baseball appearance on the mound in 2019. The Giants then traded Coonrod in 2020 for a fourth-round draft pick.

However, before he put on his first major league uniform, while still in the Giants minor league farm system, in 2018, he underwent Tommy John surgery, something very common to pitchers. Last year with the Phillies, he was off and on the DL several times over the course of the season.

The Phillies decided to put Coonrod on waivers to make room on their roster for infielder Josh Harrison. In a counter move, the Mets put outfielder Khalil Lee on waivers to make room for Coonrod on their roster.

In 2019 and 20 with the Giants, Coonrod posted a 5.74 ERA, but after getting traded to the Phillies seemed to come to life. In 42 and a third innings in 2021 he put up a 4.04 ERA with a 25.9 percent strikeout rate compared to an 8.1 percent walk rate and 57.1 percent of the batters that managed to hit the ball ended up grounding out.

However, going into spring training he was hampered with a shoulder strain that put a damper on the 2022 season. He posted a 7.82 ERA over 12 appearances last year.

Coonrod was asked if he did anything over the off-season to try to strengthen his arm and shoulder.

“Yes, I have been working on some exercises to help strengthen it over the winter,” he said. “You know, a pitcher is one of those athletes where practice is a double-edged sword. You have to practice to be good, yet if you practice too much you risk damaging your arm. It’s a fine line. But I’m hoping to stay healthy this year and be more productive.”