As it stands at the time of writing, the Mets’ left-handed relievers are Nate Lavender and Cionel Pérez. Lavender arguably earned an Opening Day spot down the stretch this past season, but because he has an option, the Mets could prefer that he helps solidify their Opening Day depth with the expectation that he is among the first to get the call-up and still pitch 40-plus innings. Pérez has great stuff and could be an interesting second lefty, but the Mets seem like they would prefer another more established arm in the bullpen.

What Left-Handed Relievers are Available?

There have already been reports of the Mets meeting with left-handed relievers from Will Sammon of The Athletic and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They will likely check in with all of the reliever market, and not every meeting will necessarily be reported on. Below are the relievers they have confirmed they have shown interest in, plus one bonus name.

Alex Vesia

Alex Vesia is the best left-handed reliever on the market (second if Adrian Morejón is not signed as a starter). Across 332 1/3 career innings, he has a 2.87 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with a 32.4% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate. Vesia has 16 saves and 93 holds across that span.

He accomplishes this off his plus four-seam fastball and slider combo, which both generate plus whiff and chase rates. He throws from a very high slot, which is similar to Mets prospect Jonah Tong but from the other side. That allows him to generate 21 inches of iVB with over 2,500 rpm of spin. Unlike Tong, he is able to get good horizontal movement on his slider with roughly six inches of break. He also throws a changeup to pair with the fastball.

Vesia already has significant interest and would likely require a multi-year contract.

Tim Hill

Tim Hill is coming off a down year with a 4.60 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, but his “stuff” looked almost identical to 2025 when he had a 3.09 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. Similar to Daniel Duarte, Hill relies heavily on chase with very little whiff. That is a very volatile skill set, as shown by the extreme year-to-year ERA splits. Unlike Duarte, Hill is able to generate a high ground ball rate, and a strong infield defense can be very useful. It is unclear what the Mets’ infield defense will look like.

Hill throws his sinker over 80% of the time and mixes in a slider and four-seam fastball. All of his pitches grade around league average, and he relies on weak contact to be successful. He does have experience in leverage with six saves and 89 holds, but he is likely better as the second lefty in the bullpen.

Brooks Raley

Brooks Raley was a great Met. He pitched 128 2/3 innings to a 2.31 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across four seasons. He is also 39-years-old in 2027 and has seen his stuff decline over the last two seasons while generating less whiff and giving up harder contact. This all came to a head with the Phillies, where he struggled for them after the trade deadline.

Maybe a one-year deal could make sense, but the Mets would probably prefer he is not the primary lefty in the bullpen or in a leverage role.

A.J. Minter

A.J. Minter was one of the few players the Mets traded away at the deadline who put up good results with his new team, who were the Minnesota Twins. Once a trusted leverage reliever, Minter is entering his age-33 season coming off multiple injury-plagued seasons. He put up great results with the Mets, with a 2.12 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, but his “stuff” took a big step back.

Minter’s velocity never returned post-injury, and he now averages just 93.5 mph. He still gets good swing-and-miss on his high spin cutter, but at 89 mph it is no longer the elite pitch it once was. Overall, he generates below-average swing-and-miss, relying more on weak fly balls and limiting walks. He could be a fine second lefty paired with a stronger setup option.

Darwinzon Hernández

When he was last in the majors in 2022, Hernández was a high-whiff, high-walk reliever who ran high strikeout rates with a lot of traffic on the bases. He threw a 94-95 mph fastball paired with a high-spin slider and a very high-spin curveball coming in with almost 3,000 rpm of spin. Across parts of four seasons, he put up a 5.06 ERA and 1.74 WHIP, but he did throw 40 innings in 2021 to a 3.38 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.

From 2024-2026, he pitched in the NPB to a 2.46 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. His 9.4% walk rate, while still high, is a big improvement from what he put up in the majors. He also upped his velocity to 96 miles per hour, struck out over 30% of batters, and generated significant whiff and chase rates. The NPB does use a different baseball, which can help with command, but Hernández is an interesting under-the-radar flyer.

A.J. Puk

It has not been reported that the Mets checked in on A.J. Puk, and he may not even get a major league deal this offseason. If he is accepting non-roster invite deals, the Mets should be all over Puk. He is coming off both elbow surgery and a shoulder injury and has not thrown more than eight innings in the majors since 2024.

In that 2024 season, he threw 71 1/3 innings to a 3.15 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He throws six-plus pitches with incredible extension, plus movement, and good velocity. He threw 1 2/3 innings in Triple-A in 2026 before his shoulder injury, and his stuff looked the same as it did in 2024. If his stuff still looks good post-surgery, he can be an interesting flyer for 2026.