The Mets’ rotation has been hailed recently as the team brought in Chris Bassitt to work behind Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. With starting pitchers in place, what about the bullpen?
The bullpen has often been the source of agony for all baseball fans, but especially Mets fans. All things considered, though, the Mets had a solid relief corps last year. Their 3.90 bullpen ERA ranked ninth in MLB and fifth in the NL.
The bullpen is also an area the Mets haven’t addressed much this offseason, as they’ve focused on the rotation and players like Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha in the field. The one main addition so far was Adam Ottavino, a 36-year-old right-hander who has been dominant at times throughout his major league career but suffers from walk issues.
Last year with the Red Sox, Ottavino struck out 10.21 batters per nine innings but also walked 5.08 per nine, resulting in a 4.21 ERA and 3.96 FIP.
Aside from Ottavino, unless the Mets make any significant moves before the start of the season, they’ll be rolling with pretty much the same group they had last year. At the top of the depth chart is, of course, Edwin Díaz.
Díaz, 27, had a very good season last year after a shaky start to his Queens tenure. The 2018 AL reliever of the year went from a career-best 1.96 ERA with Seattle to a 5.59 ERA in his first year in the orange and blue. Part of this could be attributed to luck or natural regression, but he walked nearly an extra batter and a half per nine innings, and he also gave up 2.33 home runs per nine innings compared to just 0.61 in 2018 with the Mariners.
In 2021, Díaz was not as dominant as his 2018 form but was certainly better than 2019. He posted a 3.45 ERA (2.48 FIP) with 32 saves and 12.78 K/9 compared to 3.30 BB/9. He pitched 62 2/3 innings for the Mets and gave up just three homers, compared to 15 in his debut season in New York.
Díaz likely still slots into the Mets’ closer role unless disaster strikes.
Then there’s Seth Lugo, who was entirely a reliever last year after transitioning between starting and relieving for much of his career. He was solid despite a few blowups, posting a 3.50 ERA and 10.68 K/9 in 46 games. He’s found much more success in the bullpen than in the rotation, and he had a great 2019 season where he posted a 2.70 ERA, 11.70 K/9 and 1.80 BB/9 over 80 innings.
Trevor May also looks to have another solid season as he helps lock down the middle-to-late innings. Díaz, Lugo, Ottavino and May will likely be the main four staples in the Mets’ bullpen.
Also projected to be on the roster is Miguel Castro, another reliever who posted a mid-3’s ERA in a high amount of games last year. Drew Smith also began figuring things out last season with a 2.40 ERA in 31 games. Trevor Williams came over in the Javier Báez trade and was better in New York than in Chicago, so he will likely get some innings.
One thing the Mets lack in their bullpen is left-handed pitching options. They recently signed Chasen Shreve to a minor league deal; as of now, he’s the only left-handed pitcher projected to make the roster, according to Roster Resource. He’s spent time with five major league teams, including 17 games with the Mets in 2020.
Shreve could be solid, having put up a 3.63 ERA over 285 major league innings. But the Mets should certainly look to deepen their left-handed pitching depth. The rotation is all righties too, unless David Peterson steps in.
They also signed lefty Mike Montgomery to a minor league deal, but he hasn’t been good in the majors since 2018.
Overall, the Mets look to have a good bullpen this year, even if it doesn’t jump off the page like the front end of their rotation does. The recent signing of Ottavino definitely shores things up a bit, and Díaz’s performance will likely have a major impact on the quality of the bullpen as a whole. The Mets still don’t have a lot in the name of left-handed pitching, and they could still use an extra arm to really lock things down given the unpredictability of the season.
