Mets First Half Report Card: Relievers

Well, Mets fans, we have made it to the All-Star break. As crazy as it sounds, the first half of the season has concluded. So far, the Metsmerized team has put together grades on the coaching staff and starting pitchers.

In this edition, we focus on the late-inning stoppers, the relievers.

Edwin Díaz: A+

When the Mets traded for Edwin Díaz in the winter of 2018, the version they expected to get was the one that led all of baseball with 57 saves for the Seattle Mariners that same season. Díaz struggled in his first year in Queens, pitching to a 5.59 ERA and a 4.51 FIP, clearly the worst season of his career. A shortened 2020 allowed Díaz to rebound and pitch to a 1.75 ERA and 2.18 FIP. Then, in 2021, Díaz seemed to have his ups and downs throughout the season, concluding the year with a 3.45 ERA and 32 saves, but his strikeout rate was down from previous seasons, as Díaz struck out 12.8 K/9, down from the 14.7 K/9 for his career.

This season, it is safe to say Díaz is pitching the best baseball of his career since moving to Queens. A 1.69 ERA, 20 saves before the All-Star Break, a 1.18 FIP, and an astonishing 18.1 K/9 have pushed Sugar into the conversations for the best closer in the game. Also, Díaz has struck out a video game-like 51.7% of the hitters he has faced. Simply incredible. How about one more interesting statistic? Díaz has only allowed six home runs over the last two seasons and 100 innings pitched. When the game is on the line, Díaz has proven to be reliable. The grade for the Mets’ star closer should be obvious.

Adam Ottavino: B+

When the Mets signed Adam Ottavino this offseason to a one-year, $4 million contract, many believed that Ottavino would be a solid reliever to use in the middle innings–an excellent veteran to complement a lockdown duo of Seth Lugo and Díaz.

As the club pulls into the well-deserved break, Ottavino has seen himself working primarily as the team’s setup man. Ottavino’s numbers are solid, posting a 2.52 ERA, 3.37 FIP, and a 0.98 WHIP. After having pitched to a 4.59 ERA and 3.86 FIP the last couple of seasons, Ottavino has pitched very well for the Mets and has the trust of manager Buck Showalter late in games.

Drew Smith: B

The current team president, Sandy Alderson, made a plethora of moves over the years back when he was general manager to try and shore up the team’s bullpen, going as far as to sell off veterans and bring in hard-throwing upside arms like Bobby Wahl, Stephen Nogosek, Jamie Callahan, Gerson Bautista, and more.

Drew Smith was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 27, 2017, in exchange for first baseman Lucas Duda, has proven to be the best one Alderson brought back. Smith has pitched to a career 3.25 ERA as a Met. Sure, his FIP is a little high for his career at 4.43. However, the 28-year-old righty has guts and attacks hitters.

In 40 innings this season, he has struck out 46 and walked 14. Smith has pitched to the tune of a 3.38 ERA and has proven to be a solid middle innings option for Showalter. The Mets have to be happy with what they have gotten from Smith this season, and he doesn’t hit free agency until he’s 31.

Seth Lugo: C

It hasn’t been the smoothest of seasons for Seth Lugo up to this point. With a K/9 rate of 8.7, down from his prior three seasons where it eclipsed 10+ K/9, Lugo’s issue seems to be with his curveball more than anything else. His walk rate is the same as his career at 2.5 BB/9.

According to Baseball Savant, Lugo’s horizontal curveball break, in inches, is down from years prior. This season, the horizontal curveball break is 11.4. In 2021, it was 12.1, and in 2020, it was 12.3. Many point to Lugo’s decreased fastball velocity, but the numbers suggest that that hasn’t been much of a problem. His four-seamer has averaged 94.1 MPH this season. In 2021, it was 94.2 MPH, and in 2020, it was 93.5 MPH. The Mets and their fans have seen Lugo at his best over the years, and the support is still there from Showalter, who continues to use him late in games.

Trevor May: D

Trevor May signed with the Mets in the winter of 2020 for two years and $15.5 million. The hard-throwing righty was brought in to stabilize the back end of the bullpen. Last year, the righty provided the Mets with 62 2/3 innings, a 3.59 ERA, 3.74 FIP, and an 11.9 K/9 rate. Not bad.

This season has been rough for May, as he’s currently sidelined with a stress reaction in the lower portion of his right humerus. May’s expected return was late-June, or early July. His last outing was May 2 against the Braves, when he admitted that things weren’t feeling quite right. May is a free agent after the season, and he has allowed eight runs on 13 hits in 8 1/3 innings. His K/9 rate has plummeted to 5.4 K/9, down from his 11.9 K/9 from the 2021 season.

The Mets expect May back sometime after the All-Star break, and the hope is that the injuries and discomfort are behind him and that he can be a solid option out of the bullpen during the second half of the season.

Colin Holderman: B+

The 6’7”, 240-pound 26-year-old rookie righty out of Bourbonnais, Illinois, has been a surprise for the Mets this season. A ninth-round selection in the 2016 MLB draft by the New York Mets, Colin Holderman attended Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois. He then moved on to Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Carbondale, Illinois. Needless to say, the Mets did well here and saw the plus fastball and slider potential, something the organization places a lot of emphasis on, as they have seen a lot of success with fastball-slider pitchers.

Holderman has thrown 17 2/3 innings this season, and he has a 2.04 ERA with a 2.26 FIP. He has not allowed a home run yet this season. Having bounced between Triple-A Syracuse and MLB, Holderman has produced solid results, and he is most likely to find himself in Showalter’s bullpen in the second half of the season.

Joely Rodriguez: C

Before the season started, the Mets and Yankees made a trade together for the 16th time in their collective histories. The Mets acquired Joely Rodriguez on April 3, 2022, right before the season started, in exchange for righty Miguel Castro. The club needed to add a more viable lefty heading into the season, especially in a division where lefties Matt Olson, Juan Soto, and Bryce Harper are to see many at-bats against the Mets.

This season, Rodriguez has appeared in 32 games, has a 4.67 ERA, and a 3.15 FIP; the latter number hopefully suggests a sign of better things to come. A walk rate of 5.7 BB/9 is high for a reliever specializing in getting lefties out, so Rodriguez will need to bring that number down to be more effective in the second half. His 11 K/9 is solid, and it is a good sign that lefties are hitting only .204 off him. The Mets would like for Rodriguez to be more effective, but the underlying numbers suggest a second-half rebound is very much possible.

Adonis Medina: B

The 25-year-old Adonis Medina has been back and forth between Syracuse and Queens during the first half of the 2022 season. He has given the Mets everything and then some. In 21 innings for the big club, he has a respectable 3.00 ERA, 3.97 FIP, and 1.14 WHIP.  He shows moxie on the mound, and Showalter showed enough confidence in him to let him close a game on June 5 in Los Angeles against the powerhouse Dodgers.

Medina is a solid long-reliever and will probably bounce between Syracuse and Queens some more before the year concludes, but for now, the team and the fans have to like what they have seen from him so far this season.

Tommy Hunter: B-

Tommy Hunter began his career in 2008 as a starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers. At 36-years-old, he is now working out of the Mets bullpen. Somehow, he is still pitching, especially after undergoing back surgery so bad that he could not even walk. He has worked 11 innings and pitched to a 2.45 ERA. He has struck out 11 hitters and walked one. Showalter likes Hunter’s experience and attitude, and it will be interesting to see if he sticks around the next few months in the team’s bullpen.

Yoan López: C+

Yoan López has five years of experience under his belt. He has worked strictly out of bullpens at the MLB level. For the Mets this season, much like Medina, he has bounced between Syracuse and Queens. Whenever the Mets have turned to Lopez, he has delivered positive results. He has a 3.12 ERA, 4.50 FIP, and a 1.38 WHIP in only eight innings. Lopez will be an option in the second half if the team suffers injuries or needs an extra arm here and there in relief.

Stephen Nogosek: B

As stated earlier, Stephen Nogosek was one of the many relievers that the organization acquired years ago to help fortify the team’s future bullpen. Nogosek was one of three arms brought back in the trade that sent setup man Addison Reed to Boston in the summer of 2017.

Nogosek sports a 0.71 ERA this season in limited innings, 12 2/3 to be exact. His FIP is a bit high at 5.09, which shows that the ERA is probably better than it should be. However, the numbers do not lie, and even in limited action, Nogosek has been solid.

What do you guys think of the grades? Is anybody too high or too low? Voice your opinions in the comments.