David Stearns and his staff have put a large emphasis on adding depth to their bullpen, which continued on Friday. The New York Mets signed right-handed reliever Kyle Crick to a minor league deal, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring camp.
Crick did not pitch in 2023, but he does own a 3.56 ERA in 194 relief appearances throughout his career. The 31-year-old last pitched for the Chicago White Sox in 2022, going 2-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 15 2/3 innings.
Crick had his best season as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2018, when he pitched to a 2.39 ERA in 60 1/3 innings. He is best known for his slider, which led the league with most over 3500 rpms in the last five seasons according to Mike Mayer of Metsmerized. Crick operates with a slider/sinker mix, which is something he has utilized throughout his big league career.
This move comes less than 24 hours after the Mets signed right-handed reliever Austin Adams to a one-year deal. Edwin Díaz will be back in 2024, but given the way the bullpen performed for a large majority of last season, it appears that more moves will be made in order to strengthen that area of the team.
