The New York Mets bullpen. One need only research the number of games it has blown for ace Jacob deGrom to realize that this is an area that must be addressed. Last year, in the shortened season, the bullpen pitched to a 4.60 ERA and 4.74 FIP ranking it 18th in major league baseball.
The new hierarchy of the Mets wasted little time in bringing in the likes of Trevor May, Aaron Loup and even Marlins’ project Jordan Yamamoto among others to bolster the set-up role and long relief. Sources have indicated that the inconsistent pair of Jeurys Familia and Dellin Betances (who had an ugly 7.71 ERA in 2020), are being shopped around to potentially shred salary.
The bullpen is an area clearly still in flux for the Mets, but some clarity is at hand. The closer, Edwin Diaz, had a nice bounce-back year in 2020 (1.75 ERA and 2.18 FIP) and Seth Lugo has been dependable. Southpaw Loup had a nice campaign last summer (2.52 ERA, 0.84 WHIP) and gives the Mets a quality left-handed option out of the pen. Complimenting Loup will be May (a RHP) who has pitched to an 3.33 ERA over his last three years with the Minnesota Twins.
That’s four givens (assuming Lugo isn’t a starter) in a 26-man roster that will probably carry an eight-man bullpen. What of the other four spots? As mentioned, players have been brought in to try to fill these needs, but several will likely be left out in the cold. A player who could be caught in a numbers crunch is the once dependable Robert Gsellman.
If he comes north with the Mets from spring training, it will be Gsellman’s sixth year with the team. His stats over the first five have not been overly impressive. He has given up more hits (342) than innings pitched (322) and has a career 4.67 ERA. That ERA number was inflated by a ghastly 2020 season where he made six starts and had a 9.64 ERA. He missed time due to a rib injury.
Gsellman has had his moments with the Mets. In the 2018 season, Gsellman pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. He was 6-3 with a 4.28 ERA and 13 saves. In 2017, he made 22 starts, but was hurt by shoddy defense behind him and only managed a 5.07 ERA in an eight win, seven loss season.
Thus, a conundrum regarding Mr. Gsellman. Clearly not in the same league statistically as many in the Mets pen, he could be lost in the shuffle. At only 27 years of age, the right-hander could perhaps be a long man as he once was a starter having started four games last year. But his hits per inning pitched is an eye sore that will take years to undo.
Further, a fractured rib is not always easy to come back from, especially in a pitcher.
The story will be told (as with other parts of the bullpen) in spring training. There are jobs to be won and jobs to be lost in Port St. Lucie in 2021 as the Steve Cohen era begins in earnest, with games on the field. Gsellman will get his chances, and if he excels, then long relief will be his place. If he is mediocre or worse, it is unlikely he’ll stay with the Mets and either be part of a trade or simply designated for assignment.
