Mets’ Bullpen Options Following Recent Struggles

After opening the year as one of the more productive units across baseball, the Mets’ bullpen has suddenly fallen out of order.

The club’s relievers have combined for a 4.70 ERA in May, the second-worst mark in the National League, after finishing April with an NL-best 2.85 ERA. The reasons for the group’s decline, which includes seven blown saves this month, range from Edwin Díaz and Adam Ottavino’s collective ineffectiveness to the absence of Brooks Riley and everything in between.

With Díaz now on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement and Jorge López off the roster after Wednesday’s events, the Mets are in desperate need of bullpen help as they look to keep their season alive and buck any recent trends.

With that, let’s take a look at a few options that the club has at its disposal in its farm system.

Dom Hamel, RHP (Triple-A)

While Dom Hamel’s future as a starting pitcher at the major league level is in doubt, there’s every reason to believe he could potentially make a splash out of the bullpen.

The Mets’ third-round pick in 2021 out of Dallas Baptist University, Hamel was downright excellent in both 2022 and 2023 as he worked up a reputation as one of the team’s top pitching prospects with a 3.55 ERA and 11.29 K/9 over that stretch. However, it’s all come crashing down for him with Triple-A Syracuse this season as he possesses both a 7.36 ERA and a BB/9 rate of 7.61 over his first nine starts and 36 2/3 innings at the level.

Rated as the Mets’ No. 14 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, Hamel utilizes a low to mid-90s fastball that carries up in the zone and generates whiffs thanks to the rise and spin rate of the pitch. There’s no shortage of secondaries within his arsenal as well, though his slider and curveball stand above the rest as additional high spin rate offerings that miss bats consistently.

Hamel has the stuff to excel in the big leagues, but his lack of command and inability to work deep into games at the Triple-A level may ultimately relegate him to reliever duty, where he has the potential to thrive for the Mets sooner rather than later.

Eric Orze, RHP (Triple-A)

After twice defeating cancer while at the University of New Orleans, the Mets’ selection of Eric Orze in the fifth round of the 2020 draft was a feel-good story that quickly translated to success during his first season as a professional.

Orze skyrocketed through New York’s system in 2021, reaching Syracuse at 23-years-old after cruising in High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. He finished the year with a 3.08 ERA and 12.1 K/9 as opposed to a BB/9 rate of just 2.5 over 34 games between the three levels. It appeared as though Orze was destined to reach the big leagues at an unusually quick pace, though his career would hit a roadblock after finding it hard to replicate that level of success over the coming seasons. 

Orze appeared in 32 games for Syracuse in 2022, where he saw his ERA balloon to 5.13 despite the fact that his xFIP, strikeout rate and walk rate all trended in the right direction when compared to his performance at the level a year prior. He would also go on to spend the entirety of the 2023 campaign in Triple-A, though his issues became more apparent as his BB/9 rate grew to 6.09 and his ERA to 5.31 over 39 contests.

Orze’s FIP and BB/9 rate both currently represent career-worsts at 5.45 and 6.31, respectively, during his fourth go-around with Syracuse in 2024, though his ERA has dropped back down to 4.56 and his strikeout rate has seen a slight uptick as well. His poor command is undoubtedly a concern, but Orze likely deserves a look at the major league level on the back of his splitter, which profiles as an above-average pitch, in addition to his proven ability to punch batters out at an absurd rate.

Trey McLoughlin, RHP (Double-A)

A 16th-round pick of the Mets out of Fairfield University in the 2021 draft, Trey McLoughlin has done nothing but produce since joining the organization.

Despite a rough first handful of games out of the gate to open his career, the 24-year-old right hander broke out during the 2022 campaign with a 3.71 ERA and 10.6 K/9 across 26 games pitched with Low-A St. Lucie and Brooklyn. McLoughlin took another leap in 2023, posting a 2.79 ERA with 11.1 K/9 across 35 contests with Brooklyn and Binghamton before finishing the year with nine scoreless appearances in the Arizona Fall League as the cherry on top.

Recently ranked as the No. 24 prospect in the Mets’ system by FanGraphs, McLoughlin is off to a roaring start with the Rumble Ponies this year, owning a 1.29 ERA and 2.81 FIP alongside 11.57 K/9 in 11 outings. He doesn’t light up the radar gun, typically sitting in the low 90s with his four-seam fastball, but his command and use of deception with the pitch make it effective. McLoughlin also sports a splitter that grades out as his best weapon and a slider that works well in tandem with the rest of his arsenal, giving him an intriguing pitch mix that should translate well to the major leagues while making him a fascinating option for the club’s bullpen somewhere down the line.

Paul Gervase, RHP (Double-A)

Standing at 6’10” and 230 pounds, Paul Gervase is an intimidating presence on the mound with a ton of potential as a weapon out of the bullpen for the Mets moving forward. 

The LSU product was selected in the 12th round of the 2022 draft by New York and immediately began mowing down hitters, recording 16 strikeouts over 11 1/3 innings in a small eight-game sample size shortly after joining the organization. During his first full season of pro ball in 2023, Gervase dominated to the tune of a 2.05 ERA and 15.2 K/9 over 38 games and 57 innings with Brooklyn and Binghamton. He’s continued to prosper thus far in 2024 as well, pitching to a 1.93 ERA across seven appearances with the Rumble Ponies while dropping his BB/9 rate from 6.6 to 3.9. 

Gervase’s arsenal features a mid-90s, a sweeping slider and a split-change, all of which are elevated by both the extension he gets in his delivery and his low-slot release that goes a long way towards deceiving hitters. The 24-year-old right-hander has appeared in just 14 games above High-A, but his prior experience and success at Double-A could earn him a promotion to Syracuse in the near future that could be further parlayed into a major league call-up later this season. 

Wilkin Ramos, RHP (Double-A)

In just his second year in the Mets’ system, Wilkin Ramos has emerged as a legitimate candidate for a big-league promotion after adopting a new delivery.

The former Oakland Athletic and Pittsburgh Pirate farmhand was a selection of New York’s in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in 2022 after he put up a 3.88 ERA over 37 games and 51 innings with Bradenton, Pittsburgh’s Low-A affiliate. From there, Ramos upped his production in 2023 by recording a 2.50 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 37 walks across 33 contests and 57 2/3 frames that were split between Brooklyn and Binghamton. He has yet to allow an earned run through 11 appearances and 16 innings of work with the Rumble Ponies this season while possessing K/9 and BB/9 rates of 9.00 and 1.69, respectively.

Ramos excels at inducing ground balls, evidenced by a 76.7% GB%, which is a product of his low-to-mid-90s sinker and high level of extension within his low-slot release that he learned after joining the organization. The 23-year-old, ranked as the club’s No. 34 prospect by FanGraphs, also has a sweeping breaking ball at his disposal that the platforms classifies as a slider, which has the potential to develop into a devastating offering at the next level.