At a time when Mets fans were still clamoring for Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets made a move designed to sure up their bullpen when they signed Antonio Bastardo to a two year $12 million contract.
Generally speaking, the move was well received. While Bastardo was a left hander, he was not exclusively a LOOGY. For his career, he actually holds righties to a very respectable .211/.307/.331 batting line. Bastardo was a guy that the Mets could slot into the seventh or eighth inning. He was supposed to be a very important part of the Mets bullpen. So far, in 2016, it hasn’t happened that way.
After a terrific stint with the Mets last year, Terry Collins has handed the eighth inning to Addison Reed, naming him the setup man even before spring training started.
Additionally, after a terrific showing in Spring Training and an even better start to the season, Jim Henderson has seemingly locked down the seventh inning role.
To date, Bastardo’s role has been much less glamorous.
Bastardo’s first appearance came in a Mets 7-2 trouncing of the Phillies. It was Bastardo’s job to mop up the ninth inning. Last night, Bastardo was called upon to eat up a many innings as he could after Steven Matz lasted just 1.2 innings. Bastardo was the second guy in after Hansel Robles pitched the first 2.2 innings of relief.
It appears Collins feels more comfortable going elsewhere when he’s looking for a guy to get some important outs. It’s too early to say or suggest that’s he’s in the doghouse or that this current situation will continue, especially since the season’s only six games deep.
But the fact is Collins is looking to Reed and Henderson to get those critical outs as a bridge to Jeurys Familia. It’s not what anyone had in mind when the Mets signed Bastardo this offseason.
With all that said, there’s still a lot of games left to be played. As the season progresses, it’s very likely that Bastardo is going to get those important innings. However, it does appear that Henderson has passed Bastardo up in the bullpen hierarchy and is looking more and more like another great under-the-radar signing by Sandy Alderson.
