Who Assumes Mets Setup Role, If There Even Is One?

The New York Mets will have some piecing-together to do by the time they reach the end of Spring Training. Not only will they need to sort out who will make their final 25-man roster heading into Opening Day, Mickey Callaway will need to get all of the team’s other affairs in order before they host the St. Louis Cardinals for Opening Day at 1:10 pm on March 29.

That includes what should be an intriguing back-end-of-the-bullpen battle. Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins are both likely to assume their roles as closer and left-handed specialist, respectively. Callaway mentioned before the start of spring training that the bullpen would be a “by-committee” type of situation.

But, most likely, we can count on Familia being the primary closer for the Mets this season and Blevins as the LOOGY. As for the rest of the bullpen, no roles have yet to be defined and there’s a decent possibility some areas will remain under situational-based discretion by Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland.

Hansel Robles figures to push his name into the conversation for a spot heading into the season. Seth Lugo, and whoever loses out on the final spot in the Mets’ rotation, whomever that may be, will likely be in the ‘pen, as well.

Even Robert Gsellman has a horse in this race, but could also very well start the year in Triple-A Las Vegas and come back up if and when someone gets hurt or pitches their way back to the minors.

The real drama could be in the area of who gets the nod as the New York Mets’ setup man. I know, this may be another undefined role in Mickey Callaway’s bullpen, but a certain air-of-confidence is needed coming into games in high-pressure situations. Giving the bullpen, at the very least, some structure could have positive effects on the mind frame of the group, as a whole.

Being that both AJ Ramos and Anthony Swarzak are righties, I see more of a two-headed-setup-role for these two. Swarzak is a flamethrower, whole Ramos’ changeup and breaking stuff is his bread-and-butter. If a certain situation calls for finesse, Ramos would get the call, and vice versa for the hard-throwing Swarzak.

Even a Lugo or Wheeler could eventually find their way toward the top of the Mets’ bullpen hierarchy if they adapt to relief-pitching well. Seth Lugo’s curveball, Zack Wheeler (potentially) or Swarzak’s heater, and AJ Ramos’ changeup should all figure to play very well in the late-innings against opposing hitters.

Whether Mickey Callaway decides to cement guys into specific roles or to play it all by ear should be a fun underlying theme to Spring Training.