Good morning.
This week’s question comes from Christopher Soto –
Pretty
much every playoff contending team has called in to check on the Mets Selling
price for CL Addison Reed. In the event that he
IS traded who do you make the closer going forward until Familia returns?
Reese Kaplan says –
That's
an easy one to me. Your closer for the
remainder of the year should be the AAA closer from last year -- Paul Sewald.
With a few hiccups here and there, he's been mostly very high quality
with a surprising number of strikeouts for a guy who's not really a power
arm. Remember that John Franco made a career out of soft tossing and
spotting his pitches.
The
Mets, of course, will turn to veteran Jerry Blevins in
this role where he is likely miscast.
He's found his great success as a LOOGY and his batting average against
while facing right handed hitters is enough to send you to Costco for the
giant-sized tub of antacid.
Tom Brennan says –
It
definitely has to be Paul Sewald. He has tons of
minor league closer experience, very successfully I might add, and Paul has
actually pitched very well with the Mets except for a few poor games for
virtually the entire season. I think he'd give you a reasonable performance as
a closer until Familia returns. And the
high strikeout rate he had in the minor leagues he has continued in the majors.
My only question with Paul is: what took the Mets so long to bring him up in
the first place?
Michael Maar says -
If Addison Reed is traded I think the guy to look to
as closer until Familia returns, and heir apparent for 8th inning work next
year is Robert Gsellman. (Assuming of course that he returns from his
latest injury soon.)
I
have to admit that at one point earlier this season I read some chatter about
Mets execs thinking he'd make a good reliever due to his
temperament/fearlessness, stuff, and ability to throw strikes. That rang true to me then, and it does
now. It's at least worth a shot to try
him in a short relief role for the rest of this season.
With
Reed gone, the Mets would have a significant hole in the 8th inning and would
need to find out if they have an in-house answer. Otherwise they'll have to make 8th inning a
priority on their Winter shopping list.
I say give Gsellman a tryout.
(I'd
still look into signing Reed back next year as a FA if he doesn't get a
closer's contract. You never have enough
good late inning relievers.)
Mack
says –
I’m sure most of the Mack’s Mets writers that
participate this week will choose Paul Sewald,
but I have a different spin.
The
2017 season is a wash.
Also,
half of successful pitching is confidence and attitude.
We
have two talented pitchers that have had a miserable season. Rafael Montero is still looking for a role on this
team and Hansel Robles is still looking for the
side of the barn. Both have all the tools to throw 10-20 pitches in the last
inning of a game their team is always winning.
My
first vote would be Robles who I thought would easily stop into this role only
Reed left.
Give
him a shot and, if that doesn’t work after two or three outings, hand the ball
over to Montero.
For
fun… give it to Cespedes for a couple of games.
Past that... keep losing. You won't need a closer.
Past that... keep losing. You won't need a closer.
Jack Flynn says –
There
are really no good options here, but Hansel Robles seems
like the most logical fit for the closer's role when Reed departs. Robles has
shown flashes of brilliance since joining the bullpen in 2015 and was actually
having a terrific year until mid-May, when his proverbial doors were blown off
three straight times over an eight-day period. All of a sudden, Robles was down
in Triple-A and he spent two months in the desert before rejoining the Mets
last week.
Robles's
stuff is what you would expect from a closer - heavily reliant on a 95 mph
fastball with a put-away slider that has led to more than a strikeout per
inning so far in his career. Robles is still the youngest reliever in the Mets
bullpen right now and is under control for at least three more seasons. (The
Vegas exile may have actually bought the Mets another season of team control).
The other potential closers are all older than Robles, none of them throw
especially hard, and no one has had the type of season that would make them a
more worthy candidate to step to the front of the line.
There's
no sense in turning the job over to veterans like Jerry Blevins (if he isn't
traded as well) or Fernando Salas, since it's not clear if either man will be
back with the Mets in 2018 anyway. Josh Edgin and Josh Smoker are as likely to
be non-tender candidates as they are fill-in closers. This is also a personal
preference, but I am not a fan of left-handed closers unless they approach a
Aroldis Chapman- or Andrew Miller-level of dominance. Most teams still carry a
platoon player or two on their bench to feast on southpaws, and since the Mets
have only one regular left-handed starter, those guys would be waiting for
Edgin or Smoker in the ninth inning of a close game. Paul Sewald has garnered
some attention, but he's also sporting a 6.75 ERA since June 1.
Robles
is hardly the ideal candidate, but he's the best of a bad lot.
Richard Herr says –
How
about this? I think it should be the guy who crashes through TC's office door,
grabs him by the collar, and says, "Give me the fucking job!" The
question seems to pussyfoot around the issue. We seem more to be saying,
"Be vewy, vewy, fwightened," when we talk about the closer's role.
That philosophy derives from Sandy Alderson's School for Nice, Young Gentlemen.
(I think I've already mentioned that somewhere in this column.) A closer is not
a nice, young gentleman. He's an audacious, in-your-face warrior who has shown
up on the mound just for the sheer pleasure of slicing and dicing the upcoming
batters. We shouldn't go about asking for someone, just anyone, to timidly poke
their fingers in the air indicating that they might possibly want the job. We
want someone who's going to say, "Why did you ask? Can't you see I'm right
here?"
Eddie Corona –
The
closer has to have Ice in his veins, a short memory and a mean streak... No one
on the current roster seems to come to mind. But someone needs to get the final
out. I would put Fernando Salas in the Closer's
role and here's why... there is one more trade deadline. The waiver wire
deadline. Maybe just maybe he does well enough that someone is desperate enough
to parlay a mid level prospect for him. on the other hand If he blows a few
games maybe that will help our draft status for next year
4 comments:
Mack, I do not like Robles in the closer role due only to his propensity to surrender homers. I agree with Reese, as Sewald is more likely to keep the ball in the park. Ever since hitting high A ball, Robles has been homer prone. Sewald has never been homer prone.
Sewald may let runners on like Franco, but he won't - 1.24 WHIP in the bigs, vs. 1.25 WHIP for Robles - a tie.
I think Sewald as closer would do OK.
I must be nuts - Robles is 16-8 career...yeah but he is just 1 for 8 in saves. He throws harder than Sewald, but Paul strikes out more guys per 9 innings.
Leave Robles where he is, that's my take. Try Paul.
Salas seems unsalable. Because his pitching has been assailable, even if he is always available.
Other teams have a "Salascious"look in their eyes when Fernando takes the mound.
He's no Fernando Valenzuela, Reese.
He's more of a Fernando Venezuela given the crises and instability that follow his appearances.
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