While the hot stove is currently buried in 10 feet of snow, MLB has announced some news regarding 2025 Opening Day. On March 27, which will be MLB Opening Day, ESPN will have extra coverage, as they’ll be showcasing a doubleheader to kick off the season. The two World Series representatives will be in action; the first game will be the Milwaukee Brewers taking on the New York Yankees in the Bronx at 3 p.m., while the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Detroit Tigers in Chavez Ravine at 7 p.m.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

The Mets ranked 28th in farm system hitting rankings, based on data from all leagues and levels, per Dylan White of Baseball America.

Keith Hernandez‘s longtime beloved cat Hadji passed away last week at the age of 22, the ’86 World Series champion announced on twitter.

Latest MLB News

Now-former Blue Jays assistant major league hitting coach Matt Hague is accepting a job as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ hitting coach, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports. 

The All-MLB Team Awards Show will be happening on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on MLB Network. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates are signing Brent Strom as an assistant pitching coach, per Noah Hiles of The Pittsburgh Gazette. 

Diamond Sports Group, owner of Bally Sports, have agreed to a multi-year deal with Amazon Prime Video, per Evan Drellich of The Athletic. However, this does not mean you can watch your local team, as you will have to buy an additional add-on to do so.

Latest on MMO

Take a look at a possible infield addition for the Mets, Willy Adames.

MMO gave Mets backup catcher Luis Torrens a grade for his 2024 season.

Could the Mets look to add another southpaw to their rotation? Get to know Garret Crochet!

On This Date in Mets History

2018: Jacob deGrom receives 29 of 30 first place votes en route to his first Cy Young Award. DeGrom finished the season with a 1.70 ERA and a 218 ERA+.

2012: R.A. Dickey becomes the third different Met to win the Cy Young Award. Dickey became the first knuckleballer to earn the award, while tallying 20 wins and a 2.73 ERA in his award-winning season.

1986: Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon purchase the Mets from Doubleday & Co. for $80.75 million, splitting the franchise at 50% apiece.

Born On This Date: Francisco Lindor (1993), Akeel Morris (1992) Joely Rodríguez (1991), Xavier Nady (1978), Tim Hamulack (1976), Darrell Sutherland (1941), Jim Piersall (1929).

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Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

This was a no-hitter regardless of how you viewed it or how many pitchers it took. The Mets waited more than 50 years for their first: Johan Santana providing the entirety of the 134 tosses on a Friday night at Citi Field. They waited nearly 10 years for the next one: also on a Friday night, also at Citi Field, but using five pitchers to deliver the 159 needed against the Philadelphia Phillies.

A quintet of Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo, and Edwin Díaz joined Santana – unconventional, but nonetheless a unique moment in club history.

It was the first no-hitter in the majors that year, the 17th-ever combined no-no, and the only one with five pitchers used. A reason for the high pitch count, the most needed for a no-hitter since the total was widely tracked back in 1988, was thanks to six walks. But it was a slight blemish on an otherwise immaculate evening that ended in a 3-0 victory.

Megill began by holding down an imposing Phillies offense over five innings, mainly with fastballs. After 88 pitches, five strikeouts, and three walks, he was replaced to begin the bullpen relay.

Smith did not allow a baserunner in the 1.1 innings he was on the mound and fanned four. Rodríguez gave out a free pass to the first batter he faced when he came on in the seventh, but a double play ball from Alec Bohm eliminated any further threat.

Lugo finished off the eighth and left a runner stranded when he induced a pair of popups.

Díaz entered in a save situation, except a little bit extra was at stake. He wasted little time sustaining the drama. Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto each went down on strikeouts in a performance that would be reminiscent of the closer’s dominance throughout the season.

The Mets’ offense initially had difficulty in building a lead for their pitchers. After being stifled by Aaron Nola, who retired 10 straight at one point, they got to the Phillies ace in the fifth. Eduardo Escobar singled, Mark Canha doubled on a liner over the third base bag, and Jeff McNeil drove both home with a two-run single to left center, breaking the scoreless deadlock.

The lead increased in the sixth thanks to a Pete Alonso home run for the game’s final margin.

Although their respective fortunes differed in the postseason, the Mets dominated the Phillies during the 2022 regular season — winning 14 of 19 with more special occasions and remarkable finishes. Just six days later, New York orchestrated a ninth-inning rally from 7-1 down at Citizens Bank Park. Later in May, Nick Plummer tied it in the ninth with his first career hit and home run (won later by an Escobar single). Then in August, Canha’s dramatic ninth-inning blast capped a two-homer day and a wild 10-9 road win.

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Jul 18, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; National League relief pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) of the New York Mets speaks during media availabilities at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Allow me to channel my inner Brad Pitt for a second and get this out of the way: “Guys you’re still trying to replace Díaz and we can’t do it. Now what we might be able to do is recreate him, recreate him in the aggregate.” Here is the spoiler to this article, at this current moment in the middle of March, they do not need to trade for Alexis Díaz or David Bednar.

If the Mets did decide to go down the trade route, however, our own Jack Markowski looked at potential trade targets. And, yes, both the younger Díaz and Bednar are included in that list.

Win Probability Added (WPA on FanGraphs) is a cumulative statistic that adds how much win probability a player adds over the course of the season. I like this stat to measure a team’s bullpen and relievers in general because it does not punish relievers for a few bad outings and it gives them more credit than WAR for their in-game contributions.

Relievers have an enormous impact in terms of their ability to sway game by game outcomes and WPA reflects that more than WAR. No reliever really came close in terms of being in the top of the WAR leaderboards, but five out of the top-10 pitchers in terms of WPA were relievers.

Okay, so here is the good news. The Mets bullpen was 11th in baseball in terms of WPA in 2022. Here is the bad news: Edwin Díaz had a 3.60 WPA while everyone else combined for -0.57 WPA. The piece of good news Mets fans can be happy with though is that David Robertson had a 2.63 WPA and Brooks Raley had a 1.09 WPA in 2022. Adam Ottavino had a more mediocre 0.49 WPA but some amount of regression in the positive direction should help the veteran righty. Ottavino had a 1.24 FIP in low leverage spots, a 4.28 FIP in medium leverage spots, and 4.57 FIP in high leverage spots last year. The sample size was quite larger in low leverage spots so one can hope/expect that a more balanced performance in medium and high leverage situations will lead to a higher WPA for Ottavino.

Add that to the fact the Mets have more relievers with options which should help them avoid leaving guys who are struggling on the Major League roster. The bottom of the Mets bullpen combined for a -2.56 WPA, and the regulars like Seth Lugo, Trevor May, Joely Rodriguez, and Drew Smith all had negative WPAs.

Aside from Robertson, Ottavino, and Raley, the Mets will not have a lot of relievers that should and will get a long leash on the roster. For example, I really like John Curtiss but if the Curtiss experiment does not work out, the Mets can be a lot more decisive than they were with say, Seth Lugo. This is why I am not all aboard the Zack Britton train. They have been heavily going in on getting relievers they can cycle through in an attempt to find the best bullpen. Britton feels like a move for the sake of making a move and he could be an arm they hang onto for longer than they should.

The Mets still have a bullpen with effective arms and they can more than hold the fort down until the deadline. Also just looking at the top bullpens from last year, the Astros, Mariners, Yankees, and Dodgers did not have a Díaz type arm in their bullpen. All of those bullpens were built on amassing failed starters, waiver claims, and unearthing arms in trades.

At the end of the day, replacing 60 innings of a high leverage reliever like Díaz is easier than replacing one of their top three starters or one of their top five hitters. The Mets still have high expectations and they should have confidence in their existing high leverage arms to step up to start the season. As Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs shows in his article, the Mets playoff percentage is still at a very high 77.7% and their World Series percentage only dropped 1.4%. The Mets would have been great with Díaz, but they will still manage to be very good without Díaz in 2023.

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Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox announced on Wednesday they’ve signed lefty reliever Joely Rodríguez to a one-year deal that includes an option for the 2024 season. Chad Jennings of The Athletic reports that Joely gets $1.5 million guaranteed for the 2023 season then has a team option of $4.25 million option with a $500K buyout for 2024.

Rodríguez, 31, was acquired by the Mets in a rare April trade from the Yankees that sent right-handed reliever Miguel Castro to the Bronx. Rodríguez pitched to a 4.47 ERA overall in his lone season with the Mets, but he pitched much better down the stretch with a 2.74 ERA from August to the end of the season.

In 50 1/3 innings with the Mets in 2022, Joely allowed 42 hits, walked 26 batters, struck out 57, and gave up only three home runs. Both FIP (3.23) and expected ERA (3.62) painted a little better picture of how Rodríguez pitched in 2022. The veteran lefty was in the 96th percentile for average exit velocity, 95th percentile for barrel percentage, and 94th percentile for chase rate.

One of the biggest highlights of Joely’s time with the Mets came on April 29 when Rodríguez pitched a scoreless inning in the second no-hitter in franchise history.

With Rodríguez leaving the Mets, they will continue their search for a consistent lefty reliever that goes back to last offseason. The top names on the free agent board include Andrew Chafin, Brad Hand, Aroldis Chapman, Jarlín García, Zack Britton, Taylor Rogers and Matt Moore.

The post MLB News: Joely Rodríguez Signs With Red Sox appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

With the end of the World Series, the off-season quickly commences. As soon as the final out was made Saturday night, 131 players around the MLB became free agents. This included a list of nine New York Mets.

This list is of course headlined by Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo. Díaz, who has established himself as arguably the best closer in all of baseball, is likely to receive the largest deal ever given to a ninth-inning man. Meanwhile, the career-Met, Nimmo, once again turned in a superb season, and will surely be sought out after by many.

Several pieces of the Mets’ 2022 bullpen, outside of Díaz, also comprise the list of nine New York free agents. Further showing why this area of the roster will be closely monitored throughout the off-season. Each of Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo, Trevor May, Joely Rodríguez, and Tommy Hunter are hitting the open market.

Ottavino and Lugo played vital parts in the bullpen for the Mets this year. Not to mentioned, Lugo has been a Met since he was drafted in the 34th round by the team back in 2011. After rocky starts both May and Rodríguez, each largely settled down and also played key roles at points. Meanwhile, Hunter was shoved into a role after injuries piled up.

Trevor Williams and Tyler Naquin round out the list of New York free agents. Williams played a vital role for the team in 2022, both as a starter and long-man out of the bullpen. After coming over in the Javier Báez trade, he made extremely effective use of his appearances. Naquin, meanwhile, came over at the trade deadline for a couple of prospects. His time with New York can certainly be described as lackluster.

With all that being said, and add in the several other Mets who will have decisions made on their options in the coming days, the New York Mets have several issues to iron out. It will be an extremely important off-season for a team that will largely need to rework both its’ rotation and bullpen. The off-season may just start with evaluating which internal free agents New York wishes to bring back, and which they do not.

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Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Loup had one of the best reliever seasons in franchise history for the New York Mets in 2021 after signing a one-year deal to be their LOOGY. Loup’s sparkling 0.95 ERA in 2021 for the Mets earned him a two-year, $17 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels during the offseason. While Loup struggled in his first year with the Angels, the Mets also found it difficult to find a dependable lefty reliever for the 2022 season.

The Mets brought back veteran lefty Chasen Shreve, traded Miguel Castro to the Yankees for Joely Rodriguez, and signed a couple of minor league depth pieces in Rob Zastryzny and Mike Montgomery. Shreve, after having success with the Mets in 2020, started the season fine with only two earned runs allowed in April. It was all downhill from there and the lefty was released in early July. Montgomery struggled in the minors and Zastryzny allowed one run in his lone outing as a Met before being designated for assignment.

That left everything to Rodríguez –a pitcher acquired in an April trade that had most folks scratching their head. Rodríguez’s performance in April was a good representation of his entire season with the Mets as he posted a 5.87 ERA despite holding opponents to a .120 average. Joely walked five in that span, and that turned out to be his issue most of the season with 26 in only 50 1/3 innings.

A strong September 2.25 ERA (only two walks) gave Rodríguez a final 4.47 ERA with the Mets. However, when Rodríguez did allow hitters to make contact, it was among the weakest in baseball with his average exit velocity in the 96th percentile and barrel percentages in the 95th percentile. His expected ERA for the season was a solid 3.62 and his FIP was an even better 3.23.

Rodríguez is one of the Mets’ many free agents this offseason putting them in a spot where they were last offseason looking for a left-hander reliever to stabilize the bullpen.

One of the arms they talked to last offseason, Andrew Chafin, intends to decline his player option to become a free agent according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The Mets liked the pitching skills of Chafin last year but balked at signing the veteran because he was unvaccinated and there was still a ban in New York at the time that would’ve meant he couldn’t pitch in home games.

Chafin, 32, had his second straight good season with a 2.84 ERA, 3.06 FIP, and struck out 67 compared to only 19 walks in 57 1/3 innings for the Tigers in 2022. The impressive 2022 season comes on the heels of the 2021 one in which he posted an even better 1.83 ERA in 68 2/3 innings between the A’s and Cubs.

The addition of Chafin certainly bolsters a weak left-handed reliever market that includes Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Sean Doolittle, Brad Hand, Matt Moore,  Taylor Rogers, Matt Strahm, and Justin Wilson.

With Drew Smith as the only Mets reliever under contract for the 2023 season that pitched significant innings for New York this year, GM Billy Eppler will have his hands full in revamping a bullpen that is desperate for an arm that can get lefty hitters out.

The post Andrew Chafin Will Join Lefty FA Reliever Market appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have spent the entire 2022 season looking for a reliable lefty reliever to get outs. GM Billy Eppler decided not to acquire a lefty at the trade deadline and instead cited that they were hopeful in-house lefty Joely Rodríguez would turn his season around.

To the surprise of most, Rodríguez has done just that. In August, the former Yankee posted a 3.27 ERA over 11 innings. His strong August did come with the caveat that he suffered two losses in his last three appearances of the month. That didn’t stop Joel from having his best month (so far) as a Met this September.

In seven September appearances, Joely Rodríguez has allowed only two runs in 8 1/3 innings, good for a 2.16 ERA. He’s allowed only four hits and two walks in that span while striking out 12. His last four outings have been even better, he’s faced 18 batters and retired them all including half of them via strikeout.

The big reason for the recent success of Rodríguez is limiting walks significantly compared to his early season outings. From the start of the season through July, Rodríguez was walking an unsightly 6.59 batters per nine innings. Over the last two months, that number is all the way down to 2.7 walks per nine innings. A stark improvement for a pitcher the Mets needed to badly step up.

Limiting walks for Rodríguez is such a big key because when hitters do make contact against him it’s among the softest in the majors. Rodríguez ranks in the 98th percentile in average exit velocity and 95th percentile in hard hit percentage this season.

Rodríguez doesn’t have significant platoon splits this season with righties currently at a .638 OPS and lefties at .651 vs the left-hander.

If Rodríguez can continue cutting down on the walks down the stretch and into the playoffs, I’m sure manager Buck Showalter will feel more comfortable in using Joely in important spots.

The post Joely Rodríguez Pitching Well in September appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (93-55) entered Sunday afternoon at Citi Field looking for the four-game sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates (55-92). With their ace, Jacob deGrom on the mound, the Mets relied on a four-run eighth inning to clinch the desired four-game sweep via a 7-3 victory. The offense, thanks to the eighth inning explosion, was able to compile 12 hits. Meanwhile, Mets’ pitchers combined to tie the major-league record for the most strikeouts in a nine-inning game (20). An all-around terrific effort.

The Mets struck first right out of the gate. During a Brandon Nimmo infield single, the ball was tossed into the dugout allowing Nimmo to reach second. He then came home after a Jeff McNeil RBI single. In the same frame, Pete Alonso was hit by a pitch. That was the fifth time a Met was hit by a pitch in the past game plus. Alonso let Oviedo know that he was not happy and the benches cleared briefly. Order was restored and the Mets led 1-0 after the first inning.

Mets-Pirates Benches clearing… pic.twitter.com/ZgHQLWB2hp

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 18, 2022

New York struck for two more in the second inning. The bases were loaded thanks to singles by Nimmo and Tomás Nido, Luis Guillorme also walked. Following that, McNeil then drew a walk of his own, Oviedo’s third of the game, and Alonso grounded into a fielder’s choice. When it was all said and done, the Mets pushed across two more runs and led 3-0 after two innings.

Jacob deGrom was sensational for the game’s first five innings. He tallied 13 strikeouts and only allowed one hit through these five frames. Unfortunately, when he was closing in on the 100-pitch mark in the sixth inning, he tired. After two singles, Oneil Cruz took him deep. This not only tied the game at three, but it also ended deGrom’s now so-so looking outing. His final line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 13 SO. He threw 101 pitches.

Though, despite the blemish to his afternoon, deGrom was able to set another major-league record. Sunday’s outing was the 40th straight in which he allowed three runs or less (record dating back to 1913, when earned runs became an official statistic).

Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

Joely Rodríguez entered in the seventh and pitched two tremendous innings to keep the ballgame tied. He threw 25 pitches and struck out five of the six hitters he faced. Just a superb outing for the left-handed reliever who has posted five scoreless outings in his last six appearances.

The game was a 3-3 stalemate until the bottom of the eighth inning. Nido singled to center and was pinch ran for with Terrance Gore. Gore used his electrifying speed to do what he does best, make things happen on the base paths. He stole second and went to third base on an errant throw. Nimmo then drove him home via a single to the outfield.

Daniel Vogelbach singled later in the inning with the bases loaded to bring home two more runs. Then, Eduardo Escobar grounded into a fielder’s choice to score the Mets’ seventh and final run of the game. Trevor May came in the ninth with a 7-3 lead and pitched a scoreless frame.

Worth noting, the Mets struck out 20 Pirates’ hitters in the game, this tied the major-league record (nine-inning game). Terrific performances by the offense and the pitching to help the Mets clinch a four-game sweep.

Despite the win, the Mets’ division lead still stands at a single game. That due to the Atlanta Braves completing their own sweep, three games, over the Philadelphia Phillies earlier this afternoon. Atlanta welcomes in Washington for a three-game set next.

Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Player of the Game: Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo has been walking a ton recently, as he saw his on-base percentage climb to .358. In Sunday afternoon’s game, he did way more than just walk, as he had three hits and delivered the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. In total, he went 3-for-5 with two runs and a RBI.

Others that deserve some recognition are Rodríguez (2.0 IP, 5 SO), McNeil (2-for-2, 2 RBI), and Vogelbach (2-for-4, 2 RBI). There were several different key contributors in the victory.

On Deck

Next up for the Mets is one of their two remaining opponents that have a record above .500, the Milwaukee Brewers (78-68). Game one of three, at American Family Field, is slated for a 7:40 P.M. ET first pitch Monday night. The probable pitching matchup is a terrific one, as Max Scherzer faces off against Corbin Burnes.

The post Mets Win 7-3, Clinch Four-Game Sweep Over Pittsburgh appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Bassitt had an ugly outing Monday night, but the resilient righty, who’s had a big hand in the team being atop the NL East has been nothing but a breath of fresh air in manager Buck Showalter‘s starting line-up.

Up until tonight’s game, the Mets had won each of Bassitt’s last eight starts. He was 4-0 in August with a 1.65 ERA – never giving up a long ball the entire month. Chalk it up to him having a bad day at the office. Who hasn’t?

Position players had a tough time, as well, stranding 10 runners against rookie right-hander Javier Assad – twice with the bases loaded. Mark Canha left the bags full in the first, striking out on four pitches while looking at the last three. It’s times like these I wish the Mets could’ve transferred some runs from their last two games, like college students taking their credits when leaving one college for another.

The Cubs drew first blood off of Bassitt in the top of the second. After retiring Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom on fly balls to center, Bassitt lost Rafael Ortega on a 0-2 count, sending the former Oakland Athletics’ 80 mph slider into the right field seats.

New York was much ado about nothing in the bottom frame. Assad erased Eduardo Escobar on a fly ball to center, fanned Tyler Naquin with his 85 MPH curve and shut the door on James McCann with a fly out to right on a 92 MPH sinker.

Bassitt gave leadoff hitter Alfonso Rivas a free pass after a 0-2 count, struck out Christopher Morel on three pitches – then surrendered a two-run homer to Zach McKinstry to put himself in a 3-0 hole.

The bottom of the third was much like the second, albeit a walk that went nowhere.

In the top of the fourth, the wheels came off with another leadoff walk to Happ, an errant pickoff attempt by Pete Alonso, that put Happ in scoring position, which he later achieved after landing on third on a groundout, and crossing the plate on Ortega’s RBI single to left. P.J. Higgins moved Ortega to second who crossed the plate for the Cub’s fifth run on Riva’s single to left center.

Assad’s only sign of weakness came in the bottom of the inning when Canha and Escobar reached base on back-to-back singles and James McCann, sandwiched between strikeouts to Naquin and Brandon Nimmo, drove in the first of the Mets two runs.

Tommy Hunter came in relief of Bassitt in the top of the fifth keeping the Cubs at bay, retiring the side in order. Assad followed suit against the Mets.

In the top of the sixth, Trevor May took the baton from Hunter and fanned two out of three with a series of change ups four-seam fastballs and sliders.

With two away in the bottom of the inning, Escobar threatened with triple to deep center, only to be left out to dry when Naquin struck out swinging.

Mychal Givens was another bright spot in relief for the Mets in the seventh, striking out the side on 10 pitches.

Mark Leiter, Jr., former Met Al Leiter’s nephew, stepped in for Assad and did his uncle proud with a 1-2-3 outing – striking out Francisco Lindor on three straight pitches in the process.

Givens kept the Mets in the game the hard way, allowing a pair of singles to start off the eighth, but after Franmil Reyes went down swinging, Seiya Suzuki was caught stealing and Happ, who then walked, remained at second when Wisdom whiffed on a 96 mph four-seamer.

The Mets had a monumental chance in the bottom of the inning to do some serious damage when they loaded the bases with no outs. Jeff McNeil managed an infield single, Alonso banged a base hit to shallow left, Daniel Vogelbach drew a walk and Canha, who crushed his first grand slam two days prior, looking to redeem himself for leaving them loaded in the first, struck out swinging on an 87 mph slider.

With two more attempts to make a dent, Escobar flied out on a 0-2 pitch to center and Darin Ruf, having a rough time at the plate, lined out to right.

Joely Rodriguez matched his fellow relievers in the top of the ninth striking out two of the 6, 7 and 8 hitters, and for the Mets last licks – it was too little too late with two outs when Lindor hit a solo shot to right center – ending on McNeil’s groundout to second.

The good news? Atlanta fell to San Francisco and tonight, Jacob deGrom is on the mound.

The post Chris Bassitt, Bats Struggle in Series Opener vs. Cubs appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Urgency is, and should be, the name of the game for the New York Mets right now who are locked in a fierce battle for the NL East pennant with the Atlanta Braves. However, certain decisions made by manager Buck Showalter late in games, when it comes to the bullpen, clash with that sense of urgency.

Let’s make no doubt about it; Showalter has played as big a role as anyone in the success the Mets have enjoyed so far this season. Hired by new general manager Billy Eppler during the offseason, Showalter has brought a sense of calm, responsibility, accountability, and respect to the organization. The Mets have actually avoided looking like a laughing stock this year, and that is largely down to their skipper who knows how to carry himself in this game.

Showalter also boasts a wealth of experience. Regarded as one of the smartest guys in the sport, the long-time manager has turned the ingredients given to him by Eppler into a delicious and fundamentally sound baseball team that delivers gritty at-bats, runs the bases well, plays solid defense, and generates runs. Showalter has also helped the likes of Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Jeff McNeil to have huge years, while he should also take some credit for the resurgence of elite closer Edwin Díaz.

Showalter has gotten his players to buy-in all season long. He has earned their trust and, in turn, created a clubhouse built on trust and respect. Everyone is pulling in the same direction because they know their manager is putting them in the best position to win and succeed every single day. There are no ulterior motives with the Mets this year. That hasn’t always been the case in years past.

"I wanted him to be able to pitch the 9th inning"

– Buck Showalter on why he didn't bring in Edwin Díaz for the 8th inning tonight pic.twitter.com/9eFFFvmZUc

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 10, 2022

However, while Showalter has largely done the job he was hired to do this year and done it very well, there’s one black mark you can level against him. And that’s the management of the bullpen. It is a common theory in baseball that managers are based on how the bullpen performs, and that is no different with Showalter and the Mets.

Of course, the fact that Eppler didn’t go out and acquire a big-time lefty reliever at the trade deadline has hurt this team more and more by the day and if this season ends in failure, then that inability to go all out when the opportunity was there to significantly upgrade will be seen as a significant strike against Eppler and the rest of the front office. However, it is up to Showalter to get the best out of what he’s got to work with, and he arguably hasn’t done that as of late.

There has been a multitude of examples of Showalter treating crunch, must-win games in August and September like they are early rubber matches or blowout games in April or May. One of the big positives for the Mets hiring Showalter was that he came with a reputation as being a master of bullpen management. And that has been true for large parts of this season. But, with every game now crucial in a division race that will go down to the death, Showalter has come up short time and time again.

He’s approached games in August and in the early days of September thinking of the future as if we still have months of the regular season remaining. In reality, it is all about the present, but Showalter’s insistence on resting his relievers to the extreme is now coming back to bite the Mets in the butt. None of the 28-most used relievers this season have played for the Mets, and it is now past time that Showalter throws caution to the wind and taxes his bullpen as much as he can. Because if he doesn’t, all that rest won’t count for anything when they are on vacation in early October.

The latest example of Showalter’s shortcomings with this bullpen came on Friday night in an ugly 6-3 loss to the Marlins. With the Mets now 3-4 in their last seven against some of the worst teams in baseball and the offense in a major slump, the bullpen needed to step up. Instead, it has only added to the plethora of problems facing this team.

Although the Marlins rank 27th in hitting in MLB, they went to work against David Peterson and the bullpen on Friday. Showalter opted to put Joely Rodríguez into the game in the eighth after being unavailable earlier in the week due to neck stiffness. However, Rodríguez was shelled after giving up a single to Nick Fortes and a two-run home run to Charles Leblanc.

Showalter didn’t want to use Seth Lugo and Adam Ottavino and wanted to stay away from Díaz until the ninth inning, but he ended up bringing Díaz into the game in the eighth anyway with the Mets already down three runs and the game all but over with the offense unable to offer up a big hit. It was perhaps one of the strangest bullpen decisions made by Showalter yet, and he offered a reason for his actions after the game.

“I wanted him (Diaz) to be able to pitch the ninth inning,” Showalter said. “If he comes in and throws twenty pitches, I can’t do that either. We just didn’t score any runs. We had some opportunities there, but we didn’t score enough runs. We knew we wanted to get him out there so we were hoping Joely could get a couple of outs. He’s been pitching well for us and wasn’t able to, but fortunately, Edwin didn’t have to throw a lot of pitches. We wanted to create a situation where he could come in and pitch the ninth also, but you really can’t do that if he pitches a complete eighth.

“We already had Otto (Ottavino) up so we didn’t want to get him up again, and Lugo really needed another day in a perfect world, so we were able to give him that.”

This isn’t a perfect world for the Mets, though. They have now lost the division lead to the red-hot Braves who refuse to go away, and with just 23 regular season games remaining, Showalter doesn’t have the luxury to give relievers full rest and extra days off. He needs to lean on the bullpen even more now, especially with the offense slumping, and he has to tax every single arm at his disposal given the urgent situation facing his team now. While it was Eppler’s failure not to bolster the bullpen, it is ultimately Showalter’s responsibility to make what he has got work, and his insistence on being careful with his bullpen and not over-using his relievers could ultimately cost the Mets a pennant.

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