Robert Gsellman

Player Data: Age: 26, B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: 52 games, 63.2 innings, 2-3 record, 4.66 ERA, 1 save, 60 strikeouts, 1.366 WHIP, 8.5 K/9

Advanced Stats: 0.0 rWAR, 0.4 fWAR, 87 ERA+, 4.12 FIP, .315 BABIP, 68.5% LOB, 4.66 xFIP

Free Agent: 2023

2019 Salary: $582,500

Grade: D+

2019 Review

The New York Mets bullpen was an utter disaster in 2019, with only a few standout performers to speak of. For a bullpen that pitched to a combined 4.95 ERA on the season, the bar is set very low in comparing Mets relief pitchers. So under that juxtaposition, Robert Gsellman put together one of the better campaigns out of that bullpen.

Gsellman made the transition to be a full-time reliever in 2018, pitching to a 4.28 ERA across 80 innings pitched. Gsellman became the Mets de facto closer after Jeurys Familia was traded in 2018, saving 13 of his 20 opportunities. Altogether it was a solid first season in a foreign role for Gsellman, one that the Mets hoped he would build upon in 2019.

The expectation for Gsellman coming into this past season was to be one of the trusted arms that could bridge the gap to top offseason acquisitions Familia and Edwin Diaz. All things considered, Gsellman did a fine job in his role early on in the season, pitching to 3.63 ERA across his first 26 appearances.

Then the calendar shifted to June and like a majority of the Mets pitching staff, Gsellman fell apart. In June, Gsellman pitched to a 10.24 ERA across 9 2/3 innings pitched. He yielded runs in five of his 11 appearances, with the worst outing coming on June 4th.

The Mets were playing at home against the San Francisco Giants and the game went to extra innings with the score tied at three runs apiece. Gsellman was brought in for the top of the 10th inning and proceeded to yield five runs while only recording a single out before being pulled from the game. The sinkerballer was absolutely crushed in that outing, allowing three doubles, as his season ERA ballooned from 3.82 to 5.05.

In July, Gsellman settled down and was able to pitch to a 3.46 ERA. His season would then end prematurely in August, when a partially torn lat muscle landed him on the IL for the remainder of 2019.

At the time of the injury, Gsellman was leading all Mets relievers in games and innings pitched as the real workhouse out of the bullpen. Gsellman made 10 or more appearances in each month of the season prior to his injury.

2020 Outlook

While he has not gotten the results one would hope for in regards to his ERA, some of the peripherals on Robert Gsellman still indicate that he can be an above-average pitcher.

According to Baseball Savant, Gsellman ranks in the top 4% of the league in exit velocity (85.6 mph) and barrel % (3.7). For context, Zack Wheeler had an identical barrel %, whereas Justin Wilson and Luis Avilan were the only pitchers on the Mets staff to have a lower average exit velocity.

If Gsellman can continue to induce soft contact and cut down on his walk rate (3.3 BB/9), he should be able to find better results over time. As one of their few cost-controlled relievers that has proven to be a major league caliber pitcher, Gsellman is going to be a fixture in the Mets bullpen for some time.

Still, Gsellman has yet to prove that he can be counted on as a high leverage option at the back-end of the bullpen and should not be treated as such. If the Mets add depth to the end of their bullpen and keep Gsellman as a middle reliever for 2020, things will look a lot better for New York than they did this past season.