Speaking with Matt Ehalt of northjersey.com, Jerry Blevins voiced his pleasure in returning to the Mets. He joked that reporters weren’t the only ones bugging him about where he was signing this offseason, but family members and friends were doing it too. “They were like, ‘Where are you going? I know you know. What’s the inside information?’”
“Ultimately I ended up where I wanted to be. I am happy and excited to be back,” Blevins said. “We’re excited, ready to go. Pumped to be back with the Mets and ready to move on.”
It was widely reported that Blevins wanted a three-year deal going into this offseason, but that didn’t happen as the market turned out to be different than he had hoped. Blevins will be paid $5.5 million this season, and the Mets hold a $7 million option with a $1 million buyout for 2018.
“The deal I have I am extremely happy with. I think it’s fair for both sides,” Blevins said. “Again, I am where I wanted to be, too, so it worked out. I hope the Mets feel the same way.”
“Having familiarity pitching in a market like this is rare, so when you’ve done it before and have had success, it builds that confidence,” Blevins continued. “And confidence is the name of the game when coming out of the bullpen.”
Blevins will form a strong back-end of the bullpen with Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia, with Fernando Salas and Hansel Robles hoping to make impacts as well. In 2016, Blevins went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA in a career-high 73 games, striking out 52 batters in 42 innings.
