Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
With spring training set to begin in eight days, the Mets, like most other teams, are in the process of finalizing their roster, targeting some bullpen help and depth pieces. One interesting bullpen arm that remains on the free-agent market is veteran Trevor Rosenthal.
At first glance Rosenthal, a right-hander, does not seem to fit with the Mets. The 30-year-old from Summit, Missouri would add yet another righty to a bullpen that is already heavily stacked on that side.
As currently constructed, if the Mets were to roll with an eight-man bullpen, the group would likely consist of Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Trevor May, Miguel Castro, Brad Brach, Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, and the lone newly-acquired lefty Aaron Loup.
If the Mets are still looking for a reliever, Rosenthal may make sense to help round out the backend of the pen. He is a hard throwing veteran reliever with closers experience, and has shown the ability to retire both righties and lefties.
Rosenthal made his debut with the Cardinals in 2012, appearing in 19 games, and striking out 25 hitters over 22.2 innings pitched. He blossomed in 2013, the year the Cardinals won the NL pennant, and jumped into the closer’s role late in the season after Jason Motte went down with an injury.
Overall, Rosenthal struck out 108 batters in 75.1 IP for a 12.9 K/9 that season. He was flat out dominant during the postseason, striking out 18 of 40 batters faced. The right-hander’s average fastball velocity during his breakout campaign was 96.4 MPH.
The next two seasons, Rosenthal notched 45 and 48 saves and recorded K/9 rates of 11.1 and 10.9, respectively. His 48-save 2015 season set the Cardinals’ franchise record.
Late in the 2017 season, Rosenthal went down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He missed all of the 2018 season, and was released by St. Louis prior to the 2019 season.
He signed with the Washington Nationals for the 2019 season, and had one dreadful performance before suffering an injury in April. Rosenthal allowed seven runs without recording an out, resulting in an ERA of infinity.
He was released by Washington in June, and signed with the Detroit Tigers, where he spent the rest of the season.
During the pandemic shortened 2020 season, Rosenthal appeared in fourteen games with the Royals and nine games with the Padres. He recorded 11 total saves and posted a combined stellar 1.90 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 14.5 K/9 over 23.2 innings.
One concern that has always loomed large for Rosenthal is his walk rate. Over his career, Rosenthal has averaged 4.4 walks per nine innings, with his highest BB/9 rates coming in 2016 (6.5) and 2014 (5.4). His BB/9 rate in 2019 was an outlandish 15.3, but that was the year after surgery and he recorded just 15.1 innings pitched.
Rosenthal still throws hard, and at 30-years old, has enough of a road ahead that he can be an effective setup man or if need be, closer. If the Mets are indeed looking to add more bullpen arms, Rosenthal should absolutely be at the top of their list.
