Aaron Loup had one of the best reliever seasons in franchise history for the New York Mets in 2021 after signing a one-year deal to be their LOOGY. Loup’s sparkling 0.95 ERA in 2021 for the Mets earned him a two-year, $17 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels during the offseason. While Loup struggled in his first year with the Angels, the Mets also found it difficult to find a dependable lefty reliever for the 2022 season.

The Mets brought back veteran lefty Chasen Shreve, traded Miguel Castro to the Yankees for Joely Rodriguez, and signed a couple of minor league depth pieces in Rob Zastryzny and Mike Montgomery. Shreve, after having success with the Mets in 2020, started the season fine with only two earned runs allowed in April. It was all downhill from there and the lefty was released in early July. Montgomery struggled in the minors and Zastryzny allowed one run in his lone outing as a Met before being designated for assignment.

That left everything to Rodríguez –a pitcher acquired in an April trade that had most folks scratching their head. Rodríguez’s performance in April was a good representation of his entire season with the Mets as he posted a 5.87 ERA despite holding opponents to a .120 average. Joely walked five in that span, and that turned out to be his issue most of the season with 26 in only 50 1/3 innings.

A strong September 2.25 ERA (only two walks) gave Rodríguez a final 4.47 ERA with the Mets. However, when Rodríguez did allow hitters to make contact, it was among the weakest in baseball with his average exit velocity in the 96th percentile and barrel percentages in the 95th percentile. His expected ERA for the season was a solid 3.62 and his FIP was an even better 3.23.

Rodríguez is one of the Mets’ many free agents this offseason putting them in a spot where they were last offseason looking for a left-hander reliever to stabilize the bullpen.

One of the arms they talked to last offseason, Andrew Chafin, intends to decline his player option to become a free agent according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The Mets liked the pitching skills of Chafin last year but balked at signing the veteran because he was unvaccinated and there was still a ban in New York at the time that would’ve meant he couldn’t pitch in home games.

Chafin, 32, had his second straight good season with a 2.84 ERA, 3.06 FIP, and struck out 67 compared to only 19 walks in 57 1/3 innings for the Tigers in 2022. The impressive 2022 season comes on the heels of the 2021 one in which he posted an even better 1.83 ERA in 68 2/3 innings between the A’s and Cubs.

The addition of Chafin certainly bolsters a weak left-handed reliever market that includes Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Sean Doolittle, Brad Hand, Matt Moore,  Taylor Rogers, Matt Strahm, and Justin Wilson.

With Drew Smith as the only Mets reliever under contract for the 2023 season that pitched significant innings for New York this year, GM Billy Eppler will have his hands full in revamping a bullpen that is desperate for an arm that can get lefty hitters out.