Michael Fiere - So, What's "Left" In The Bullpen Market?

With the recent addition of Jose Reyes to fill our “middle infield utility role” on the bench, it has opened up a large hole in the bullpen when Sandy had to designate Josh Smoker for assignment to make room on the roster.  I had high hopes for Josh since not many lefties can bring upper 90’s heat and he seemed to harness his control "a bit" late in the 2017 season.  However, I am also NOT a professional scout and I have to trust management (to an extent) in this case, especially when they could have designated Matt Reynolds instead and chose not to.  I also have a hard time believing that Mickey Callaway wasn’t involved in this transaction on some level and he is the “bullpen whisperer”, after all.

Maybe Josh has simply reached his ceiling as a power lefty with moderate control issues?   After all, issuing free passes to the opposition late in games isn’t the best formula for success.  If he cannot lock down the opposition on a regular basis, then he isn’t going to be a useful piece going forward and the Mets are considering alternatives not yet on the roster.   It is the only justification that makes sense since we are down to ONE experienced lefty in the bullpen for 2018 (Blevins).

I don’t think the Mets will enter the upcoming season with only one lefty, so how do they address the issue so late in the off season?  They could elevate someone from within the current system that is not on the main roster, or they could obtain a player from outside of the organization either by trade or free agent acquisition.

Starting from within, the only players that would seem to be “close” are as follows;

Kyle Regnault

Dave Roseboom

PJ Conlon

Daniel Zamora

Ben Griset

Not exactly an awe inspiring list and I don’t see any names that I would “trust” in the bullpen for the 2018 season.  I think PJ will end up being a “Blevins” type pitcher, but asking him to make the jump all the way up to MLB for 2018 is a bit much, IMO.   Kyle Regnault is an “older prospect” who put up some interesting numbers last year, but I would not count on anything beyond an invitation to Spring Training, at this point.

The more problematic issue with the aforementioned list is that none of them are on the forty man roster, which means that elevating any of them would require another roster move.  Not the end of the world, but if I am opening up a hole on the roster, it better be for someone that has a definite role in the bullpen and not a “maybe” type.

The second option is to acquire a lefty from outside the organization, either via trade or a free agent addition.

Trades are hard to forecast since many teams are in a similar position this close to the spring and quality left handed relievers are not usually in abundance.   IF the Mets are planning on going this route, I would expect a move later into Spring Training, as teams start to figure out what they have and what they still need.   Or, it will be as a part of a larger trade that fills more then one need, but that is less likely in early February.

That brings us to the “lefty” free agent market, which has been as slow as the rest of the free agent market as a whole (did someone say “collusion”).  Here is a “current” list of available players that would potentially fill a need in our bullpen, with their ages in parenthesis;

Fernando Abad (32)
Craig Breslow (37)
Jorge De La Rosa (37)
David Holmberg (26)
Ian Krol (27)
Francisco Liriano (34)
Eric O’Flaherty (33)
Oliver Perez (36)
Robbie Ross (29)
Kevin Siegrist (28)
Tony Watson (32)

Try not to run screaming for cover and don’t completely shield your eyes from the madness……OK, so I am being a bit dramatic, but the point is that there isn’t a whole lot left on the market.   One of the justifications that I made when Sandy designated (traded) Josh Smoker for assignment was that “there must be a plan” to address the void and we just don’t see it, yet.

Well, I hope that the plan does not solely rely on a free agent pick up, or two.

Tony Watson struggled a bit last year but has a decent track record and a bunch of experience, so he would be a solid addition.  Francisco Liriano is another interesting name, but he has been a starter for a bulk of his career and it is unknown how he would react to a bullpen assignment.  Some starters are more effective in the bullpen, since they can “cut it loose” due to the length of their appearances, but it would likely be a crap shoot.  Outside of that, the rest of the players are “Spring Training Invites” at this stage and I am still underwhelmed.

Do you see anyone on this list that you would feel comfortable with?