31
2013
From Left Field: Can The Strategy In The Bullpen Work?
An article by 
The Mets seem to be rolling the dice when it comes to bringing in veterans on minor-league deals to compete for spots in the bullpen.
The team will likely head north in about two months with seven relievers, but spring training will decide who those lucky seven are.
LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Atchison were recently signed to minor-league deals. Do these guys have enough left in the tank to be contributors to this year’s bullpen?
Seriously, what do the Mets have to lose? At the very worst, Hawkins and Atchison will light a fire under the younger relievers who are battling for a roster spot.
Robert Carson and Josh Edgin had strong moments in 2012 but were inconsistent for the most part. Bobby Parnell is expected to keep progressing, and Jeremy Hefner will likely latch on as the long man in the pen.
The Mets signed side-armer Greg Burke to a minor-league deal early in the offseason, so we’ll see what he’s got this spring. Youngsters Jeurys Familia and Elvin Ramirez will also be given a long look.
With the exception of Parnell (who has been inconsistent in his own right), none of the above in-house bullpen candidates are proven commodities. But since relief pitching in general is such a volatile position, the Mets could either have the makings of a solid bullpen, or they could completely tank.
If a few of these arms can get hot at the right time, they could form a strong unit, especially if either Hawkins or Atchison (or both) can be effective. With the team’s lack of offense, it will be imperative for the bullpen to hold rare leads late in games.
And then of course there’s Frank Francisco. The Mets took a gamble bringing him in last year, and for the most part that backfired. But it wasn’t just a one-and-done with Frankie; he signed a two-year deal.
I wish the Mets would bring in some legitimate closing competition for Francisco. Parnell is on the doorstep of becoming a closer, but he needs to work through his inconsistencies to take the next step.
On the free-agent market, Brian Wilson, Matt Capps and Jose Valverde are still available. Valverde fell out of favor with Detroit in last year’s playoffs, while Wilson has already auditioned for the Mets but seems unwilling to accept a minor-league deal.
But as spring training nears, Wilson may be forced to lower his demands and prove that he can still close.
On a minor-league deal, I would love to see the Mets sign Wilson. Nothing would be guaranteed, and he would have to show the organization in spring training that he’s still got it.
Maybe Capps could be a guy the Mets bring in to push Francisco. However, he missed several months last season with the Twins dealing with shoulder inflammation.
Capps will probably draw interest on a Major-League deal, but again as the clock keeps ticking, he too may be forced to swallow his pride.
Signing one of these two closers to a minor-league deal would fit with Sandy Alderson’s theme of trying to piece together a bullpen of reclamation projects trying to resurrect their careers.
The good thing about this plan is that if it falters, not only would it be a short-term problem, but also none of the contracts would be guaranteed.
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 24 | 18 | .571 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 20 | .535 | 1.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 32 | .256 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Originally I wasn’t for it, but with his stock dropping because he may not be healthy just YET I think I want… nay I need Brian Wilson in blue and orange
“It smells like eggs in here. Did you fart? Did I fart?”
“Chuck Norris has been known to throw a baseball 100 mph. I’ve been known to throw Chuck Norris 100 mph.”
“I’m feeling like I want to rage, right now,”
“I’m a certified ninja. It happened in a dream. Normally it takes a lifetime, but I did it in 12 minutes.”
I like what Sandy and co. are doing for the bullpen. I’ve never been a fan of paying big bucks to relievers, especially closers, considering how fickle they can be from year-to-year. Just take a look at the past five World Series winners and who their closers are:
2012 Giants – Sergio Romo
2011 Cardinals – Jason Motte
2010 Giants – Brian Wilson
2009 Yankees – Mariano Rivera
2008 Phillies – Brad Lidge
Of those five, only one (Lidge) wasn’t a homegrown guy and the Phillies actually traded for him off a down year, rather than sign him to a long-term deal.
It’s a good strategy — as the cliche goes: throw enough crap against the wall, some of it is bound to stick.
Good point but most of those guys were at least establihed pieces of the bullpen before they became closers. And in several cases the those teams supplemented them with good higher end outside signings or trades. Think Jeremy Affeldt signing (Giants), Octavio Dotel trade (Cards), Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton and million other Yanks either thru trades or signings,
This is one strategy I think is very good. Bullpens change so much from year to year that the best way to go about it, is to get as many options as possible. Some teams have been able to groom young arms (Atlanta, KC), but most teams have to piece together bullpens and hope for the best. I still would like to see one more veteran type guy (anyone with a pulse and an ERA under 4 last year and decent K numbers….ha, that may be asking a lot), and one more high risk/high reward arm (Wilson)
It’s a shame we could have had Lindstrom & Wilson. That to me would have made it easier to handle the calls to the pen. To me Parnell could be the closer & I hope he is but you can never have enough DJ Carrasco’s. HaHaHa just kidding back end guys not these booty ass scrubs. It’s alos a good way to help ur depth building on the minor league levels. Put good guys in pen if your out of it trade them to help the lower levels. Sometimes you can get nice light hitting middle infielders back for a bulpen arm. But y do that when we could just take one with our first round pick.
Call me bitter. Courtney Hawkins no thank you who does that? This has been a philosophy problem with the Mets first round rarely take the besst player available. That tells me management don’t wana pay. When the Mets trade Billy Wagner for a box of rocks and an animal that tells me something. Everyone knows no General Manager in the world would have done that on there own. That was a directive. We don’t want to get better as much as we want to save money.
makes sense. ST should be quite the audition period. They have some experienced guys tht might have something left, and some live armed prospects that may be ready for the big time.
so, let them fight for the spots (roster and roles), and take the cream that rises to the top. Ideally it will be a mix of vet and rookie, since all of one or the other is not likely to work.
Plus, there should be some good leftovers for AAA, so as guys don’t perform or get hurt, there should be replacements ready to step in and take over.
I also do like the idea of getting Wilson though, especially if they can get him on a low base + incentives deal, with an option for future years in case he works out.
finally, if they get in the best situation of having vets (including FF) doing the job, and a young guy kicking butt in the minors, they could have some surplus arms to move at the deadline.
It’s a shame. I’m all for rebuilding & wanted to do it for years. But be all in know matter who the GM is. Always take the best players, Spend the money internationaly & develop players. I love the last couple of drafts but the first selection in each is suspect. Thats just a continuation of being so cheap u cant take the best player. Don’t get me wrong these guys may turn out to be all stars however it does not seem like we will ever maximize our exposure in drafts. This has been going on forever with the coupons.
Sorry bout the rants.
Its ok murph, Sometimes rants are justified. I was really pissed about that wagner deal too. It was an obvious salary dump. Maybe madoff was on somebodys radar at that time
No problem with the BP strategy. Spent money on the BP and got nothing. Try this approach. The great part of it is flexibility. Break camp with the best of the lot, and then, if someone doesnt work out, dump him. Not a lot tied up them. Some might bounce back; some might not
Besides, the Mets need a lot of BP arms since they have a tendency to destroy them (Felliciano, Byrdak).
It´s the absolute right approach for the bullpen.
In addition to possibly catching lightning in a bottle with some of these veterans, the tremendous pitching depth in the Mets system should finally solve this longtime problem.
Of course, just throwing pieces at the wall won´t fix the outfield mess. It´s a fine strategy for the bullpen but won´t work for the outfield. At some point, the Mets will need to trade for or sign at least a couple of league average, if not above average outfielders. Because, right now, the competition includes a 1b/DH (Duda), a backup infielder (Turner) and several natural 4th or 5th outfielders (Nieuwenhuis, Baxter, Cowgill, Brown and Valdespin).
Sign Wilson. Give he a guaranteed deal for a club option in 2014. No excuses.
NOTE: Indians just signed Matt Capps. It was a minor-league contract. Mets needed to jump on that. Wilson and Valverde still available.
Off Topic: Scratch Capps off the list of bullpen choices if he was ever on it.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/01/indians-sign-matt-capps.html
Dang….I wonder what the deal looks like.
If the Mets sign Brian Wilson AND he is healthy, the pen will look something like this:
Wilson, Parnell, Burke, Atchison, Familia, Feliciano/Carson, Edgin
Mejia, Hawkins, Laffey, Hefner, Francisco
Francisco needs to show he’s healthy before he steps on the mound in MLB competition. I wish I could be kind, but he sucked last year and I was never comfortable with him on the mound. What a waste of 12m!!!
Mejia and Hefner are candidates for the pen, but both would be just as well suited to rack up some innings in AAA until someone gets shut down…and someone always gets shut down in the pen.
Since altering his delivery, Greg Burke has been damn-near unhittable. If he’s healthy, he’ll be as effective as Chad Bradford was in 2006 and will give our pen a different look.
The “Wilson, Parnell, Burke, Atchison & Familia” corridor could cause opposing teams fits in later innings.
From the left side, Edgin, Carson & a healthy Feliciano are very decent options.
Can trade Francisco to Scott Boras for a player to be named later?
As always, time will tell, but in 2015, the pitching staff could be comprised of the following:
Rotation: Wheeler, Harvey, Niese, Syndergaard & Montero
Bullpen: Parnell, Mejia, Familia, Fulmer, Tapia, Carson & Edgin
I mean, they’re all wearing Met uniforms today, so it’s not a pipe dream. Other than Jon Niese, I don’t think any one of these pitchers throws slower than 95 mph!
Aaron Heilman scouting report:
Big East pitcher of year has excellent control, good mechanics and could be first college pitcher drafted. Overpowers hitters with sinking fastball that hits 92-94 mph and induces lots of groundouts. Has been one of nation’s top strikeout artists past three seasons.
I can go on and on with all the future aces we had …..
surprisingly…the ones we never expected ( Niese + Gee ) end up doing ok on absolutely atrocious teams with no bullpen, no defense and no offense.