Tom Brennan - METS' BULLPEN REALITY

Lots of people still resent Edwin Diaz - like it is his fault that he got traded for Kelenic - like he blew a few saves last year - like he's not Mariano Rivera (who is) - like he gives you agita watching him sometimes.

Some folks want to trade him.  Not me.  I love the strikeout machine.  To me, he's a keeper.

Yeah, he had a bad year.  But last year, aside from a few hiccups, he was a Rock Star.

I looked at a Fantasy League ESPN list of the Top 75 MLB relievers.  

Guess where Edwin was?   # 3 in all of baseball.  In other words,  27 teams did not have a reliever ranked 1 through 3 - but we did.

Guess what else?   

The only other Mets reliever on the list is Trevor May, at # 48, which sounds awfully far down the list, but which means that he would be a better 2nd reliever than half the teams in baseball have.

Guess what other Mets relievers are on the Top 75 list?  None.  

Not Seth Lugo, not Justin Wilson, not Jeurys Familia.   

So...you still want to get rid of Edwin?  Not me.

Interestingly, free agents Liam Hendriks is ranked # 2, and Brad Hand is ranked # 5.  Me?  I would get Hand, and maybe Hendricks too.  

If you want to have a killer pen, stock it with stone cold killers.

(Shockingly, guess who was # 14 on the reliever's list?  None other than Rafael Montero, that's who!)

Before I get to the Top 75 Relievers list, just be aware that Trevor Bauer is ranked 4th in starters and 17th out of all MLB players.  So perhaps we should not be quite as dismissive of Mr. Bauer.

Anyway, here is that relievers' list - we want the best pen, pay for it.

Top 75 Relief Pitchers

POS. RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	AGE
1	Josh Hader	MIL	26
2	Liam Hendriks	FA	32
3	Edwin Diaz	NYM	27
4	Aroldis Chapman	NYY	33
5	Brad Hand	FA	31
6	Nick Anderson	TB	30
7	Kenley Jansen	LAD	33
8	Alex Colome	FA	32
9	Ryan Pressly	HOU	32
10	Raisel Iglesias	LAA	31
11	Trevor Rosenthal	FA	30
12	James Karinchak	CLE	25
13	Devin Williams	MIL	26
14	Rafael Montero	SEA	30
15	Mark Melancon	FA	36
16	Drew Pomeranz	SD	32
17	Giovanny Gallegos	STL	29
18	Kirby Yates	FA	34
19	Taylor Rogers	MIN	30
20	Brandon Kintzler	FA	36
21	Jordan Romano	TOR	27
22	Roberto Osuna	FA	26
23	Jose Leclerc	TEX	27
24	Zack Britton	NYY	33
25	Jordan Hicks	STL	24
26	Greg Holland	KC	35
27	Daniel Hudson	WSH	34
28	Jeremy Jeffress	FA	33
29	A.J. Puk	OAK	25
30	Lucas Sims	CIN	26
31	Diego Castillo	TB	27
32	Garrett Crochet	CWS	21
33	Bryan Garcia	DET	25
34	Craig Kimbrel	CHC	32
35	Chad Green	NYY	29
36	Rafael Dolis	TOR	33
37	Victor Gonzalez	LAD	25
38	Luis Patino	SD	21
39	Richard Rodriguez	PIT	31
40	Archie Bradley	FA	28
41	Mike Mayers	LAA	29
42	Michael Lorenzen	CIN	29
43	Tanner Rainey	WSH	28
44	Alex Reyes	STL	26
45	Josh Staumont	KC	27
46	Aaron Bummer	CWS	27
47	Amir Garrett	CIN	28
48	Trevor May	NYM	31
49	Hector Neris	PHI	31
50	Codi Heuer	CWS	24
51	Matt Barnes	BOS	30
52	Pete Fairbanks	TB	27
53	Daniel Bard	COL	35
54	Brandon Workman	FA	32
55	Emmanuel Clase	CLE	23
56	Austin Gomber	STL	27
57	Stefan Crichton	ARI	29
58	Emilio Pagan	SD	29
59	Brusdar Graterol	LAD	22
60	Jonathan Hernandez	TEX	24
61	Andrew Miller	STL	35
62	Will Smith	ATL	31
63	Jesse Hahn	KC	31
64	Hunter Harvey	BAL	26
65	Matt Foster	CWS	26
66	Freddy Peralta	MIL	24
67	Matt Wisler	SF	28
68	Gregory Soto	DET	26
69	Anthony Bass	FA	33
70	Tejay Antone	CIN	27
71	Tyler Duffey	MIN	30
72	Blake Treinen	FA	32
73	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	26
74	Ty Buttrey	LAA	28
75	Yimi Garcia	MIA	30