In a year where the Mets bullpen was mostly in shambles, there remained one constant breath of stability: Seth Lugo.

New York ranked fifth worst in all of baseball with a bullpen ERA of 4.99, 12th worst with a FIP of 4.71, eighth worst with an xFIP of 4.75 and seventh worst with 0.7 fWAR.

However, Lugo was worth 2.2 fWAR, had an ERA and FIP of 2.70 and an xFIP of 3.24 through 61 games (80.0 innings pitched. The right-hander also had a robust 11.7 K/9, 74.5 percent strand rate and a career low 1.80 walk percentage.

Going forward, Lugo could be a valuable asset to the Mets bullpen for years to come. Only thing is, he wants to start again and the Mets aren’t opposed to the idea.

“I’m a starter who’s in the bullpen. All my personal goals are starter-based,” Lugo told Anthony Reiber of Newsday last month. “I’d like to win 20 games. I’ve still never had a nine-inning complete game […] All my goals are starter-based; everybody knows it.”

Former manager Mickey Callaway seconded Lugo’s notion and agreed that he could see the Louisiana native start again.

“I think you can definitely see him as a starter at some point. I think it depends on the makeup of the team; what does the team need? He can excel in any role out there because he’s a great pitcher.”

“He can be a multiple-inning reliever, he can be just a closer, he can be a starter. I think he could fulfill anything you want and whatever the team needs.”

For New York, they have several needs in which to address this winter. Two of the big ones are fixing their bullpen, and likely replacing Zack Wheeler in the starting rotation.

Wheeler, 29, will likely have a qualifying offer extended to him this winter, but since he is one of the more appealing names on the open market, it seems as though the Mets are unwilling to dole out a huge contract to him.

Though Lugo has thrived as a reliever (2.52 ERA in 178.1 career innings) and has had mixed results as a starter (4.06 ERA in 168.1 career innings), New York could choose to slot Lugo into the rotation in order to replace Wheeler.

The peripherals show that he could potentially have success as a starter. In 2019, his barrel rate was a career low at 5.3 percent, his exit velocity and hard hit percentages were in line with his career numbers, and his xBA (.178), xSLG (.303), wOBA (.240), xWOBA (.230) and strikeout rate (33.1 percent) all set career bests.

The spin rate on his curveball is one of the best in the game, ranking in the 100th percentile, and his strikeout rate also ranks in the 91st percentile, while his xWOBA, xBA, xSLG and hard hit percentage are some of the best in the game. So there’s definitely strong potential there, especially as Lugo enters his prime years.

But then this raises the question: what do you do with your bullpen?

For the most part, the only other valuable reliever the Mets had out there in 2019 was Justin Wilson, who pitched to a 2.54 ERA in 45 outings.

Edwin Diaz, the Mets prized acquisition of the offseason, did a complete 180 and is far from reliable at this point, while Jeurys Familia, the other Mets key signing this winter also regressed precipitously.

Removing Lugo, the most stable reliever from a bullpen that was one of the worst in the league is nothing but trouble. Especially if the Mets are bogged down financially with little wiggle room this winter.

So what do they do? While Lugo has starter aspirations, for the Mets, it makes the most sense to keep him where he is.

If the team doesn’t want to spend on Wheeler this winter, which they absolutely should, they should add an external fifth starter type and spend on adding to their bullpen to give Lugo pieces around him.