It was game five of the 2015 NLDS and the improbable Mets had gone toe to toe with the favored Dodgers in the shadows of LA. And the all-star Jacob deGrom had once again gone round for round with the game’s best, Clayton Kershaw. And deGrom was winning on the cards while the Mets garnered a razor thin one run lead after six.
Unfortunately this was an opportunity the Mets let slip through their hands a few too many times during the regular season. Their bullpen found itself in the bottom half of baseball in 2015 with 21 blown saves. The issues in the pen were well-known to fans and the front office alike, from Bobby Parnell’s batting practice outings to Jenrry Mejia’s double fault in the piss cup. The front office overpaid for the statistically reliable but optically heart-wrenching Tyler Clippard, took a chance on Addison Reed who lost his closing role in the desert, and burned their way through a carousel of inadequate lefty specialists.
The bullpen’s only saving grace was Jeurys Familia and his bionic arm. Perhaps the best closer the team has ever had, with the ability to go 6 outs to boot. But Familia was an island of certainty in an ocean of ineptitude. The towering land mass that was the starting rotation needed a bridge to Familia in this game of paramount importance. And thus they turned to the man who shares a god’s name—the Herculean Noah Syndergaard who stands six feet, seven inches off the ground and unleashes the full power of his otherworldly arsenal with little regard for human life. Thor. Syndergaard turned the Dodgers away with ease in the 7th inning, and the Mets were on their way to the LCS.
With the bullpen once again a burgeoning concern as the Mets approach pitchers and catchers, perhaps they can turn to what worked in Los Angeles for their answer in the bullpen. Perhaps Noah Syndergaard is the man they need to suture the leaky back end. Of course, one could argue with relative ease the case for keeping Syndergaard in the rotation. But here is why they might want to give Syndergaard a look in the pen.
Protect the Arm
Look, the data regarding innings limits and their effectiveness is fuzzy. This article is not meant to debate the merits of limiting a young pitcher’s use. However, Noah Syndergaard’s 2015 workload is worth a look, as regards his health. He went from 133 innings pitched in 2014 to 198.2 innings pitched in 2015. A 65 inning workload bump is virtually unheard of for a young pitcher. This raises not only questions of health but questions of fatigue. Yeah, the Verducci Effect has been more or less debunked. But on a case by case basis, you will find many pitchers adversely affected by large increases in workloads. Generally in MLB, 40 innings is considered a standard workload increase. 68 innings is on the high, high end of the spectrum. It could be worth it to move Syndergaard to the pen as a preventative measure against injury and/or fatigue.
Length Matters
Adding Syndergaard to the bullpen lengthens the back end substantially. In Syndergaard, you have a setup man who is easily capable of recording 6 outs. Although his LHB splits were not great last season, the Mets can reasonably assume that in a relief role, with his full arsenal and the ability to cut loose, splits will improve against left and right handed batters. Syndergaard removes the Terry Collins reliever shuffle. Put him in attack mode and let him go after Bryce Harper in the 7th or 8th inning, and continue pitching until it is Familia’s turn. With two elite arms each capable of recording 6 outs, the Mets’ other weaknesses in the pen are mitigated as weaker pitchers are reduced to smaller workloads.
A Shutdown Pen
Go through the league and you will count on one hand the number of teams with two pitchers in the pen who can match the caliber of Syndergaard and Familia. Even in their best years, the Mets have lacked a truly shutdown pen—the kind the Kansas City Royals rode to consecutive AL Titles and a World Series banner. What will the win/loss column results reflect if the Mets can reduce their blown saves from 21 to 14, or 21 to 12? The game is shifting and reliance on a solid bullpen is growing. The Mets will still have one of baseball’s best rotations with their top-end talent. Syndergaard gives them the chance to parlay an elite rotation into an elite rotation and a shutdown pen.
Familia Insurance
Familia was an extremely valuable piece in 2015. Some would argue he was the team’s MVP. But is he infallible? In the World Series he showed vulnerability, perhaps fueled by fatigue. Familia has shouldered some of baseball’s biggest relief workloads in the last two seasons. With the addition of the splitter, a notoriously dangerous pitch, to his repertoire, Familia could be teetering on the brink of injury. And if he goes down, the Mets have no one to turn to…unless Syndergaard is also in the pen. With a scorching heater and demoralizing breaking stuff, Syndergaard can transition to the closer role easily. Syndergaard provides all-important depth to the pen to complement depth the Mets have added throughout their bench.
Conclusion
Moving Syndergaard to the bullpen is not a cure-all. It weakens the rotation but substantially strengthens the pen. So we must assess the increased value in the pen compared to the decreased value in the rotation. What has been left unsaid to this point is that moving Noah Syndergaard to the pen does not have to be permanent. With Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia both expected to return midseason, rotation and pen options will increase. Noah Syndergaard can be implemented back into the rotation midseason, if necessary, and he will presumably be well-rested at that point, with far fewer innings under his belt than he would normally have. Syndergaard in the pen allows the Mets a half-season to gauge the abilities of a guy like Reed and the progress of guys like Hansel Robles and Eric Goeddel. Noah Syndergaard’s talents are elite and diverse, and the Mets might have an opportunity to leverage that diversity while they search for answers in their bullpen.
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