Sandy Alderson told Mike Puma of the New York Post that any help to bolster the Mets bullpen will not come externally, but that they will look at in-house options like Vic Black.
“I don’t foresee us making a trade,” Alderson said. “Black is certainly among the internal options we continue to monitor.”
While Black has been pitching effectively of late, posting a 2.16 ERA in his last ten games for Triple-A Las Vegas, he continues to be plagued with extremely high walk rates and rarely ever has a clean inning.
I’m glad that Sandy is not looking at external options, because quite frankly I think all of them stink.
On Monday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggested that Alderson should pursue one of five relievers recently passed through waivers: Addison Reed, Fernando Rodney, John Axford, Edward Mujica and David Aardsma. No thanks.
Besides Vic Black, the Mets have RHP Erik Goeddel who could be activated from the DL sooner rather than later according to team sources. In 22 relief appearances for the Mets, Goeddel shined, posting a 1.96 ERA and 1.045 WHIP while striking out 23 batters in 23 innings.
The team could also turn to RHP Logan Verrett, who is already on the 40 man roster, and already had a short but impressive stint with the Mets bullpen earlier this season.
Other options could include LHP Josh Smoker who we’ve written often about on MMO in the past two months. The former first round draft pick of the Washington nationals, has a 1.15 ERA and 0.861 WHIP for Double-A Binghamton with 22 strikeouts in 15.2 innings of relief. There are many in the organization who believe Smoker is ready for a big league call up.
Other less likely candidates, but worthwhile options are Jeff Walters, Paul Sewald and Dario Alvarez.
The point is, I would consider any or all of these options before giving up any players to acquire those unwanted relievers that Joel Sherman suggested. They are all younger, hungrier, and infinitely more effective.
