If the New York Mets are going to make a legitimate run for the NL East title this season, one thing is absolutely certain – they’ll need a heck of a performance by their once beleaguered bullpen which was one of the worst in the league last season.

Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen made improving the bullpen a top priority during the offseason and traded for one of the top young closers in the game when he acquired Edwin Diaz along with Robinson Cano from the Seattle Mariners.

In another shrewd move, bringing back Jeurys Familia to serve in a setup role instantly gave the Mets one of the best 1-2 punches in the league along with Diaz.

Just as important as Familia and Diaz in the revamped Mets bullpen, is right-hander Seth Lugo, who emerged least season as an important weapon for manager Mickey Callaway, performing as a spot starter, a long reliever, and he even closed out a few games and earned three saves.

In 2018, Lugo appeared in 54 games including five starts and finished the season with a sparkling 2.66 ERA, 1.076 WHIP and a 9.1 strikeout rate over 101.1 innings pitched. His curve had an incredible bite to it and was considered among one of the best in the majors. Lugo also established himself as a pitcher who excelled in high leverage situations.

This season started out perfect for Lugo, who pitched a perfect inning while striking out the side on Opening Day. However, in his next three games Lugo was very ineffective, allowing multiple runs in each outing and seeing his ERA balloon to 12.27 on the young season. But even more concerning than his dismal performance, was a big drop in his velocity, topping out at only 92 mph on Thursday. That certainly was not going to cut it.

After a couple of days of rest, Lugo alleviated any concerns and looked like his old self in an inning of relief against the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Lugo struck out all three batters he faced, but more importantly, his fastball was clocked at 96 mph and his signature curve had that crisp bite that had been missing.

For Callaway and the Mets, Lugo fills a vital role in the bullpen and is just as valuable as Diaz and Familia in the grand scheme of things. If the Mets are going to succeed this season, they’ll need a full throttled effort from their bullpen, and they’ll also need the Seth Lugo that was on full display on Sunday. He will play an important part in this team’s success in 2019.