Well, another free-agent bullpen target for the New York Mets is reportedly heading elsewhere for the 2021 season.
Jon Heyman first broke the news earlier on Thursday morning that the Oakland Athletics were in agreement on a one-year, $11 million contract with reliever Trevor Rosenthal. Further clarifying the reported move, The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal noted that the agreement between the right-hander and Oakland is still pending a physical.
While we don’t know the details just yet of the Mets’ pursuit, this appears to be another miss in free agency for Sandy Alderson’s front office. This one especially hurts because it comes on the heels of losing Seth Lugo to elbow surgery for at least the first couple months of the regular season.
Rosenthal, entering his age-31 campaign, was an effective reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals at the start of his career before hitting some bumps in the road. The right-hander enjoyed consecutive seasons of 40-plus saves in 2014 and 2015, with the latter year resulting in a trip to the All-Star Game. His 2017 season was cut short because of Tommy John surgery, which resulted in him missing all of 2018.
He struggled in limited time for the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers in 2019, compiling a 13.50 ERA and 8.55 xFIP through just 15.1 innings, which was accompanied with an unsightly 20.0% strikeout rate and 30.6% walk rate. He bounced back in 2020 with an elite performance, which led to the payday he’s about to receive from Oakland. In 23.2 innings with the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres, he posted a 1.90 ERA and 2.83 xFIP to go along with a 41.8% strikeout and 8.8% walk rate.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan added to the recent reports by saying Rosenthal had multi-year offers on the table, but opted for the higher 2021 salary, betting on himself to continue performing at this level in order to cash in next winter. As for the Mets, they’ll remain on the hunt for bullpen help, with Jeremy Jeffress as one potential option that’s still available.
