Leading up to the trade deadline, most of the talk from inside the Mets organization and among media members has been that the Mets’ top priority is to add a bullpen arm. While it’s always good to have bullpen depth, using the team’s resources on an extra late-inning arm seems puzzling given the other holes on the team.
First, let’s look at the current state of the bullpen. Jeurys Familia is rock solid in the closer spot. Addison Reed is possibly the best eighth-inning man in baseball this season. From there, the Mets have Jerry Blevins and Hansel Robles, both of whom are having stellar seasons and have shown the ability to get big outs late. So the seventh, eighth and ninth inning seem pretty well covered, and there seems to be no need to mess with their roles.
The last three arms in the bullpen right now are Erik Goeddel, Antonio Bastrado and the long man, Seth Lugo. Bastardo’s contract keeps him with the Mets through next year, and nobody trades for an upgraded long man, so the upgrade here would be over Goeddel. This begs the question, do the Mets really need to trade anything of value to upgrade over Goeddel?
As the Aroldis Chapman trade showed, good relievers don’t come cheap, so if the Mets are looking for a upgrade, then it will cost at least one talented player. And that’s for an acquisition who if the team makes the postseason may throw five innings all of October. Is a prospect for five innings worth it when Familia, Reed, Blevins and Robles are already on the roster and getting the job done?
What the Mets need to do is to look back at last season and remember two things. First, they can wait till August and still trade for an impact reliever like Addison Reed and not need to give up nearly as much. Second, if the team makes the playoffs, Logan Verrett and possibly Bartolo Colon will be added to the bullpen. Like it or not, Collins has shown to be very willing to use Colon in big relief spots.
What makes the desire for a bullpen arm even more puzzling is that the team has so many other holes. The Mets could use an upgrade at fifth starter, and even more importantly, the Mets’ offense is terrible. Only the Phillies and Braves have scored less runs. I understand that the team is banking on the struggles with RISP to eventually balance out, but adding a bat to either the infield or outfield mix could also go a long way.
The Mets are likely going to need a little outside help to make the postseason this year. So they should be targeting their glaring weakness and not adding an arm to their biggest strength. The offense has been a problem nearly all season, and the club needs to address that problem before it leads to their demise.
