Reese Kaplan -- BVW's Bullpen Makeover Nearly Done

This past week the Mets reunited with talented but sometimes erratic reliever Jeurys Familia who is now no longer cast as “the man” but instead as “the setup man”.  He played this role last year in Oakland behind closer Blake Treinen who finished the year with a 9-2 record, 0.78 ERA, 38 Saves, a 0.83 WHIP and 100 Ks in 80.1 IP.  Wow!

Familia was not nearly as a strong.  In fact, his Oakland A’s tenure was at best solid but unspectacular.  He finished the year there appearing in 30 games spanning 30.1 IP.  He delivered an impressive 11.5 Ks per 9 IP but also coughed up 4 BBs during 9 IP.  His ERA by his standards was a lofty 3.45 but that’s a testament to how good he’s been throughout his major league career with a 2.73 mark since debuting in 2012.

The 1-2 punch of newly acquired Edwin Diaz and former All Star closer Jeurys Familia is certainly as good as anyone in baseball can trot in from the bullpen, but is it enough?  Who else factors in to the Mets 2019 relief pitching plans?

The next name most people utter is multi-purpose pitcher Seth Lugo.  He’s done much better in the pen than he has as a starter and at times he seemed flat out dominant.  The whole spin-rate metric has been discussed to death.  His overall body of work is highly impressive.  He finished the season appearing in 101.1 IP having only given up 80 hits.  He struck out 9.1 per 9 IP while walking just 2.5.  His WHIP is an understandably terrific 1.076 and a season-long ERA of just 2.66. 

Earlier in the year when Jeurys Familia was unavailable and later when he was traded they attempted to make the long haired Robert Gsellman into a closer.  Early in the year he made it seem effortless, but he regressed, performed well, then regressed again.  The overall numbers were not good, with a 6-3 record and 13 saves standing out among otherwise pedestrian totals. 

Next come a slew of rookie or young pitchers who may or may not be ready to take the next step.  This group would include Drew Smith, Daniel Zamora and Tyler Bashlor. 

Having observed Smith in person a number of times in AAA, he’s definitely got the stuff.  The 24 year old for his entire minor league career sports at 1.99 ERA with 9.8 strikeouts per 9 IP and 2.8 walks over the same period.  So far he’s the best return of the 2017 sell-off which sent Lucas Duda to Tampa Bay for the young fireballer.  Fellow Las Vegas 51 Tim Peterson described Smith’s stuff as “electric.”  His first intro to the majors was a bit up and down, but over his first 27 games showed he was more hittable and less adept at Ks than he’d been in the minors.  However, barring unforeseen circumstances, you can write his name in ink for the 2019 pen.

Lefty Daniel Zamora came to the Mets in an exchange of lefties.  I can only guess the Pirates were enamored of the gaudy strikeout numbers Smoker provided because the pitcher they gave up the younger Zamora who had pitched to a sub 3.00 ERA and 10.8 Ks per 9 IP over the course of three minor league seasons.  Considering the Mets had DFA’d Smoker and the Pirates could have taken him for free had they simply waited.  Zamora was pretty good in his debut, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA with 16 Ks in 9 IP.  Given that he’s the only major league lefty with bullpen experience, he’s likely to be part of the roster as well.

Fireballer Tyler Bashlor may get to start the year in AAA.  He’s not yet appeared there, having skipped directly to the majors from AA.  He’s struck out as many as 15.2 per 9 IP, but, like many pitchers with the eye popping totals, he has a hard time with control. 

You have others who are on the periphery looking in, like winless Paul Sewald, soft-tossing Tim Peterson, and the hard throwing but enigmatic Jacob Rhame who can fluctuate in the minors from highly dominant to batting practice pitcher.  Throw sore-armed Bobby Wahl into that mix as well. 

So if you assume Diaz, Familia, Lugo, Gsellman, Smith and Zamora are a part of the pen, there’s certainly need for one more legitimate arm, preferably from the left side.  The names available are well known, including front line players like Zach Britton, setup guys and LOOGYs like Oliver Perez, Justin Wilson, Luis Avilan and Jerry Blevins.  Add one of this type of lefty and the pen may indeed be good to go. With the reverse platoon splits of some of the righties, you might get away with just one more lefty (which is one more than they had most of the year until the late season audition by Zamora).  Personally, I could live with one solid addition here and saving the limited funds to get a starting outfielder and perhaps another depth piece for the rotation should Jason Vargas pitch like, well, Jason Vargas.