After agreeing to terms with veteran reliever Anthony Swarzak earlier in the day, Sandy Alderson told reporters on Wednesday that the Mets are not actively looking for additional bullpen help. Instead, the team will focus its pursuits on second basemen and first base/outfielders.
Even before Swarzak was brought aboard, the relief market had diluted immensely over the past few days, with big names such as Bryan Shaw (Colorado), Tommy Hunter (Philadelphia), Brandon Morrow (Chicago), Jake McGee (Colorado), and others finding new homes. The Mets are also out on Greg Holland and Addison Reed, who are both close to signing.
This latest news, while not unexpected, is frustrating to those who called for an improvement over last season’s bullpen, which finished 29th in all of baseball with a 4.82 ERA. Only two teams (Texas and Detroit) had relievers who gave up hits at a higher rate than the Mets, and the New York ‘pen also issued the fourth-most walks.
As MMO’s Michael Mayer notes, Jerry Blevins, Jeurys Familia, and A.J. Ramos are all set to hit unrestricted free agency after the upcoming season, so it’s slightly perplexing when you realize Swarzak will be the premier reliever on the books in 2019.
However, this enhances the importance of some of the arms that were acquired in 2017, namely Gerson Bautista, Jamie Callahan, and Jacob Rhame, and fast-rising prospects like Tyler Bashlor and Adonis Uceta (although Uceta’s fate in Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft is to be determined).
