For the first three weeks of the season, the Mets’ bullpen seemed invincible. They owned a 2.35 ERA through April 24, and the only loss they were charged with came in a bullpen game against the Twins. However, over the last six games, the bullpen has a 6.46 ERA and has been responsible for all three of the team’s losses.
Wednesday’s bullpen game was smooth sailing through the first 6 1/3 innings. Huascar Brazobán started and tossed two scoreless frames before giving way to Brandon Waddell, who dazzled in 4 1/3 shutout innings, walking none and striking out four. For the third straight outing, Ryne Stanek was brought in to protect a one-run lead and failed to do so, giving up three straight two-out hits to give Arizona a 2-1 lead.
“The ball is not bouncing his way,” Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “His stuff is good, he just needs to continue to fight through it.”
In the eighth inning, Chris Devenski made his Mets debut and worked around a two-out double for a scoreless inning. Mendoza had Edwin Díaz, who hasn’t pitched since last Saturday in Washington, warming up in the bottom of the eighth inning, but opted to keep Devenski in for a second inning. Coming into the night, Devenski had only thrown more than one inning once in Syracuse – one of the two outings in which he allowed a run. The right-hander struggled in the ninth inning, giving up a lead-off walk and a double, before a pair of sacrifice flies plated two insurance runs for Arizona. The Mets rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but their comeback attempt came up short.
Much like Kevin Herget the night before, Devenski is headed back to Syracuse after throwing 38 pitches on Wednesday.
In addition to Díaz, Mendoza opted not to use Reed Garrett, who also hasn’t worked since Saturday in Washington. Brazobán and Max Kranick have been pleasant surprises, but both are used more as multi-inning arms, and only once have either of them pitched on consecutive days in 2025. José Buttó has also only pitched back-to-back days once and has struggled mightily with inherited runners.
The Mets’ bullpen has now thrown 119 1/3 innings in 2025, tied with the Mariners for the fourth-most innings in the majors. The unit was dealt another blow on Wednesday when Danny Young hit the injured list with a left elbow sprain – an injury that may require Tommy John surgery. There is a chance the Mets are without Young and A.J. Minter the rest of the season. Génesis Cabrera, who was just called up to the majors, will be the only lefty reliever on the roster.
The Mets’ bullpen still holds the highest fWAR in the majors and the third-best ERA in the National League. It’s hard to argue that any particular arm has been overworked – Brazobán leads the team with 14 appearances, but the unit could use some restructuring. Perhaps Garrett should get some of the high-leverage opportunities Stanek has been getting, while Stanek pitches in more lower-leverage situations to work through his recent struggles. Díaz has gone 7-for-7 in save opportunities, but the bridge to get to him needs some more stability.
