On Wednesday the New York Mets finally added a reliever when they signed right-hander Anthony Swarzak to a two-year, $14 million deal.

Swarzak, 32, split the 2017 season between the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers, pitching to a 2.33 ERA, 2.74 FIP, 1.034 WHIP and 187 ERA+ in 77.1 innings. He threw 77.1 innings in 70 appearances and allowed only 58 hits and six home runs during that span.

The eight-year veteran began his career with the Minnesota Twins before stints with the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees prior to this season.

Swarzak set career-highs in virtually every category including 10.6 K/9, 2.2 fWAR, 2.33 ERA, 2.74 FIP, 1.034 WHIP and .208 average against. He was effective against lefties (.245 wOBA) and righties (.260 wOBA).

So why should the Mets expect the great 2017 season for Swarzak to continue and not be a fluke?

The really simple answer is that he’s not the same pitcher he was for his previous seven seasons in the majors.

Possibly the biggest reason why his success this past season wasn’t a fluke is his bump in velocity, he averaged a career-high 95.13 MPH on his fastball. His previous best was 94.03 in 2016. He’s also seen a significant boost in velocity with his slider over the last two years with his average jumping from 84.59 MPH in 2015 to another career best 87.58 MPH in 2017.

Another key piece in Swarzak’s breakout season was his usage of multiple versions of his slider as he tells Scott Merkin of MLB.com, “I’m throwing a few different ones right now. I have the one for a strike that’s a little bigger. I have the two-strike one, and I’m shortening up a little bit on it.”

At the suggestion of White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, Swarzak began throwing is fastball up in the zone more. That certainly worked for him with hitters managing only a .264 SLG against his fastball last year after a .413 SLG against it in 2016. Here you can see the change in vertical location on the fastball over the last two seasons.

The Mets aren’t the only ones that think the success will continue for Swarzak:

The former starter pitched in a variety of different roles this past season including 27 times he entered with runners on in which he stranded 70% of runners (exactly league average).

Swarzak also pitched in 34 high leverage situations, tied with Jerry Blevins and Felipe Rivero for 22nd in the majors. He did very well in those situations too, holding opponents to a .242 wOBA.

He wasn’t solely used as a one-inning pitcher either, he was tied for third in baseball with 30 relief outings in which he threw more than an inning.

In Swarzak the Mets are getting a shutdown reliever that Mickey Callaway can be confident using in a multitude of different situations inc combination with Jerry Blevins, Jeurys Familia and AJ Ramos.