Lannan lands back in the NL East

John Lannan has now been a part of three big league organizations. All three reside in the National League East. Lannan signed a minor league deal with the Mets yesterday, the team announced. The deal includes an invitation to big league spring training. The Long Island native and former Nationals starter will now hope to land a spot in the Mets' starting rotation in spring training. Lannan went 3-6 with a 5.33 ERA in 14 starts with the Phillies last season, posting a 1.520 WHIP and a 1.41-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He went 1-1 in three starts against the Nationals last year (the most he made against any team), allowing 19 hits and 10 runs over 18 innings of work. The Phillies outrighted Lannan in October, making the 29-year-old a free agent. Lannan will compete with Jenrry Mejia and prospects Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom for the final spot in the Mets' rotation. An 11th-round pick of the Nats in the 2005 first-year player draft, Lannan went 42-52 with a 4.01 ERA with the Nationals in six big league seasons. Lannan was twice the Nats' opening day starter and went 4-1 in 2012, helping the Nats to the playoffs despite the fact that he was passed over for a spot in the rotation in favor of Ross Detwiler and spent most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse. Lannan still made $5 million from the Nats in 2012, and made $2.5 million with Philadelphia last season. Now, he'll be battling for a big league roster spot, hoping to yet again pitch in the NL East.