According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Mets are in agreement with left-handed relief pitcher Antonio Bastardo on a multi-year contract. The deal will be worth $12 million over two years, according to Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray.
Bastardo, 30, has been a consistently solid left-handed relief in his time between the Phillies and Pirates. Last season, Bastardo posted a 2.98 ERA, 3.33 FIP, and 4.27 xFIP in 57.1 innings. He also posted a fantastic 10.05 K/9 rate and a walk rate of 4.08 BB/9.
For his career, Bastardo owns a 3.58 ERA in 316.1 innings pitched with a sky-high 11.04 strikeout rate and 4.30 walk rate.
Bastardo has been great throughout his career against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .176/.277/.319 slash line. He has also been fantastic when it counts, holding batters to a .206/.315/.342 batting line in high leverage situations.
Bastardo will be paired with fellow lefty Jerry Blevins to give Terry Collins two solid southpaws to work with, which has been an issue in past seasons.
The Mets bullpen, after having signed both Bastardo and Blevins, now looks significantly better than it did at the end of last season. Behind Jeurys Familia this year will be a stable of solid arms, including Addison Reed, Hansel Robles, Sean Gilmartin, and Erik Goeddel.
