The Stearns’ Edge: Low-Cost Free Agent Relievers

New President of Baseball Operations David Stearns is known for his ability to utilize low-cost relievers in playoff-contending teams. He got strong performances from veterans such as Brad Boxberger and Hunter Strickland during his time in Milwaukee, and now, is looking to replicate his success in Queens.

The search for low-cost relievers and bounce-back starters has already begun. In the last two weeks, Stearns has signed Cole Sulser, Austin Adams, and Kyle Crick to minor league deals, and also inked former Yankee Luis Severino to a one-year deal. Needless to say, Stearns is already off to the races. Of course, the Mets are likely still looking for ways to fill out the relief corps as many available pitchers offer both upside and unique attributes that make them attractive at low costs to playoff-contending teams.

Below is a list of pitchers who have track records of success, are coming off of injuries, have serious upside, or have unique characteristics (arm slot for many of them) that make them worth a look in free agency.

Drew Pomeranz, LHP (34)

While Drew Pomeranz hasn’t pitched since 2021, has had continued bouts with elbow soreness, and had surgery early this past season, he isn’t going to retire just yet. In his last two seasons, 2020 and 2021, he was elite with sub-2.00 ERAs, and if he can regain form, he will surely be a bargain for whoever takes a flyer on him. Seeing him throw in a pro day would make sense after he got rocked in his final rehab outings with Triple-A El Paso near the end of the summer, but if he has some baseball left in him, he should be taken seriously. It’s also worth noting Pomeranz was acquired by Stearns in 2019.

Brad Hand, LHP (33)

Brad Hand is a familiar face to Mets fans after a brief tenure in Queens in 2021 and is a good buy-low candidate in the 2023 offseason. Despite a poor ERA of 5.50 in 2023, he had more encouraging peripheral stats (4.70 xERA, 4.02 FIP) due in large part to his strong walk (8.1%) and strikeout (25%) rates. Lefties out of the bullpen are eternally valuable and the Mets could use another with Brooks Raley currently the only reliable lefty in their pen. Hand limited hard contact last season and still registered strong strikeout numbers. The Mets should pull the trigger. Hand is only one season removed from a 2.80 ERA campaign. 

Shintaro Fujinami, RHP (30)

Shintaro Fujinami‘s command struggles are no secret, but neither is his 100 mph fastball. In a not-so-surprising fashion, when Fujinami was traded from Oakland to Baltimore, he improved significantly. In his 49 innings with the A’s, he had 30 walks, 51 strikeouts, and an 8.57 ERA. With the Orioles, he threw 29.2 innings with just 15 walks and 32 strikeouts to go along with a nearly halved 4.85 ERA. He started throwing his downright nasty splitter and slider significantly more after the trade, taking away from fastball usage which helped the command and overall results.

Kirby Yates, RHP (36)

Kirby Yates barely pitched for three seasons (2020-2022) before having an incredible bounce-back season in 2023. Last season, Yates had an impressive 31 percent K-rate with 80 strikeouts in 60 innings in relief. While his 14 percent walk rate was high, those kinds of whiff numbers make the true outcomes palatable. Known for his demonic splitter, Yates features a fairly even mix between his four-seam averaging around 94, and the splitter. His splitter has nearly 14 inches of vertical movement difference from his fastball, making it a sure-fire strikeout pitch. Yates’ velocity was also a good indicator of health as he was within 0.5 mph of his 2019 average velocity last year.

John Brebbia, RHP (34)

John Brebbia had a strong strikeout rate of 29 percent in 2023 and used his slider as his primary pitch. He throws a four-seamer to go along with the slider, averaging in the mid-90s with the heater. While he doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary, his sliders still hold up, making him an apt replacement for Adam Ottavino, despite their fastballs being different shapes.

Adam Cimber, RHP (33)

Adam Cimber was non-tendered by the Blue Jays last week. He was placed on the injured list in June and didn’t make another appearance on the season as he recovered from a shoulder impingement. Usually, shoulder impingements are not long-term issues, indicating he may be ready for the start of 2023. Depending on his recovery timeline he could be an interesting addition as another low-slot reliever with low walk rates. He had a fantastic 2022 season, with an ERA just north of 2.00 in 70-plus innings.

Tim Hill, LHP (33)

Tim Hill was recently non-tendered by the Padres but is another side-arm pitcher with a bit of extra velocity. He struggled with the Padres in 2023 down the stretch, but still boasts an elite fastball with one of the best vertical approach angles in the game. He also has low walk rates (~7%) but has extremely high ground ball rates too (60+%). The ground ball rates make him reliable and indicate that his ERA of 5.30 was likely a bit inflated, purely by his home runs allowed (7). This issue could likely be solved if he was slightly less reliant on fastballs as he used them nearly 95 percent of the time.