The Mets made it official today and announced that southpaw reliever Tim Byrdak has been added to the 40-man roster.
Byrdak, 37, will serve as the team’s left-handed relief specialist this season.
Last season with the Astros, Byrdak went 2-2 with a 3.49 ERA in 64 relief appearances and held left handed batters to a .213 average. For his career, he has held lefty batters to a .202 batting average.
One thing to note is the fact that Byrdak could end up being the only left hander in the Mets bullpen this season. As such, he may get a pretty big workload this season, and given his age, that’s something that will have to be watched.
In 2010 and 2009, Pedro Feliciano led the majors in appearances and set new Mets records in appearances as well. He did that with one and sometimes two other left handers in the bullpen.
