May
16
2011

Should Byrdak Be Spared When Beato is Activated?

An article by Craig Lerner

Pedro Beato got the win in Buffalo’s 4-3 victory over Louisville yesterday. He allowed two hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings in relief.

Beato is expected to again pitch Tuesday for the Bisons writes Adam Rubin, before being activated from the disabled list on Wednesday. Beato is returning from a bout with right elbow tendinitis.

Tim Byrdak Washington Nationals v New York Mets Southpaw reliever Mike O’Connor is more than likely to go back to Buffalo once Beato is activated or Pat Misch, leaving a widely ineffective Tim Byrdak to carry on in the bullpen once again.

Byrdak, 38, now has a 5.59 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 17 appearances for the Mets this season.

He nearly allowed the Astros to comeback on Sunday, before reliever Jason Isringhausen relieved him. Izzy picked up three outs and got out of the inning while preserving the Mets lead.

Except for Byrdak, the Mets bullpen has been very effective this month.

O’Connor has allowed just one hit and struck out four in four appearances since being called up.

About the Author: Craig Lerner

I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.

5 Comments + Add Comment

Brandon Butler May 16, 2011 at 9:35 am

I don’t know if Byrdrak has options if he gets cut at anytime, but if he doesn’t, you have to look at O’Connor. I was in a twitter discussion about the guy who could get sent down, and both Kerel Cooper of On the Black, and Ed Marcus of Real Dirty Mets Blog believe O’Connor will get called back to Buffalo simply because O’Connor has options.

Correct me if Byrdrak does indeed have options, but if the Mets were to drop Bydrak, then its definitely understandable either way.
Mike Silva May 16, 2011 at 10:14 am

Byrdak is guaranteed almost a million dollars this year, they won’t cut him. He isn’t going anywhere, and there are plenty of teams that need a lefty so Buffalo isn’t necessary.

I also think O’ Connor might have to go through waivers if sent down

Don’t jump the gun on dumping an experienced lefty. He was brought into a no win situation yesterday. When brought in against LH hitters he will do the job most of the time, no worse than what is on most other teams, including the Yankees.

The Mets need two lefties in that pen, not one.
Sean Kenny May 16, 2011 at 10:18 am

Izzy actually did allow one runner to score on a double. Byrdak has proven to be ineffective, and he was signed to a minor league deal. I don’t know if it is converted to an MLB deal upon him being on the roster, but in the event it isn’t, he should be sent down.

O’Connor has done fairly well against both righties and lefties, making him a better crossover/lefty specialist. Byrdak has done fairly well against lefties actually, striking out 11 and walking none, but six runs in just under 10 innings isn’t something that can be tolerated when the majority of the NL East has big lefty bats.
- Hojo's Mojo May 16, 2011 at 10:24 am
  
  I’m not a big Byrdak fan myself, and maybe he would be better served with a short trip to the minors and it will give us a chance to evaluate O’Connor a little closer and for Misch to be the second lefty. I edited the error and corrected it for him.
Russell Zanca May 16, 2011 at 10:40 am

Byrdak’s getting to be that BP guy whom I want to see only when the Mets are down by a whole lot or up by a whole lot, but never when we need a guy to shut down the opponent.

Can’t wait for the return of Beato; he seemed like the real deal.

The Izzy-KRod combo has been pretty amazing. I have great confidence in bridge-closer right now.

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