Reese Kaplan -- So Who's Supporting the Yanked Starting Pitchers?

The bullpen on the Mets has seemed to be a real issue for a great many years.  How many of you remember the 2015 season when all was a lost cause both offensively and in supporting the starting pitchers?  It wasn't until Tyler Clippard and Addison Reed arrived that fans finally felt that games could be won after the starting pitcher was yanked and Terry Collins was still in the dugout.  

Nowadays the Mets are back to the questionable firemen with the departures of Aaron Loup, Jeurys Familia and an assortment of also-rans.  As it sits right now the Mets are going into the 2022 season if and when it ever starts with Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, a hopefully healed Drew Smith, Miguel Castro and a pair of Trevors -- May and Williams.  By current standards they are at least one arm short (probably two or more).  The chance of injuries never goes away completely and a few of these pitchers are on the borderline. 

Right now on the free agent market there are quite a few options, but the majority of them that catch people's attention are closers.  Getting a closer on the tail end of his career is not necessarily a bad thing because Diaz may want to attempt to cash in during the free agent bidding frenzy come the 2023 off season.  Having someone who can close games while you transition to a Diaz replacement is not necessarily a bad thing.  

The current list of available free agent relievers is pretty big:

      Name (Age, WAR)

• Kenley Jansen (34, 2.3)
• Ryan Tepera (34, 1.9)
• Collin McHugh (35, 1.8)
• Andrew Chafin (32, 1.4)
• Richard Rodríguez (32, 1.4)
• Brad Hand (32, 1.0)
• Evan Marshall (32, 1.0)
• Jimmy Nelson (33, 0.9)
• Chris Martin (36, 0.9)
• Archie Bradley (29, 0.8)
• Joe Kelly (34, 0.8)
• Tony Watson (37, 0.8)
• Trevor Rosenthal (32, 0.8)
• Brad Boxberger (34, 0.8)
• Adam Ottavino (36, 0.8)
• Alex Colomé (33, 0.7)
• Michael Lorenzen (30, 0.7)
• Tyler Clippard (37, 0.7)
• Steve Cishek (36, 0.7)
• Tommy Hunter (35, 0.7)
• Rafael Dolis (34, 0.7)
• Joakim Soria (38, 0.7)
• John Curtiss (29, 0.6)
• Tyler Chatwood (32, 0.6)
• Greg Holland (36, 0.6)
• Daniel Norris (29, 0.6)
• Jakob Junis (29, 0.5)
• Blake Parker (37, 0.5)
• Jake Diekman (35, 0.4)
• Hunter Strickland (33, 0.4)
• Oliver Pérez (40, 0.4)
• Jesse Chavez (38, 0.4)
• Conner Greene (27, 0.4)
• Matt Andriese (32, 0.4)
• Josh Tomlin (37, 0.4)
• Sergio Romo (39, 0.4)
• Chaz Roe (35, 0.4)
• Joe Smith (38, 0.4)
• Jimmy Cordero (30, 0.3)
• Danny Coulombe (32, 0.3)
• Héctor Santiago (34, 0.3)
• A.J. Cole (30, 0.3)
• Andrew Miller (37, 0.3)
• Erasmo Ramírez (32, 0.2)
• Jason Adam (30, 0.2)
• Juan Minaya (31, 0.2)
• Corey Oswalt (28, 0.2)
• Fernando Abad (36, 0.1)
• Andrew Vasquez (28, 0.1)
• Scott Blewett (26, 0.1)
• Yusmeiro Petit (37, 0.1)
• Wander Suero (30, 0.1)
• Matt Strahm (30, 0.1)
• Adam Conley (32, 0.1)
• Grant Dayton (34, 0.1)
• Sean Doolittle (35, 0.1)
• Jesse Hahn (32, 0.1)
• Drew Hutchison (31, 0.1)
• Derek Holland (35, 0.1)
• Ian Krol (31, 0.1)
• David Robertson (37, 0.1)
• Andrew Vasquez (28, 0.1)
• Chasen Shreve (31, 0.0)
• Mychal Givens (32, 0.0)
• Hansel Robles (31, 0.0)
• John Axford (39, 0.0)
• Luke Bard (31, 0.0)
• Cam Bedrosian (30, 0.0)
• Andrew Bellatti (30, 0.0)
• Dellin Betances (34, 0.0)
• JD Hammer (27, 0.0)
• Brody Koerner (28, 0.0)
• Pedro Strop (37, 0.0)
• Dany Jiménez (28, 0.0)
• Mike Wright Jr. (32, 0.0)
• AJ Ramos (35, 0.0)
• Colin Rea (31, 0.0)
• Hunter Wood (28, 0.0)
• Konner Wade (30, 0.0)
• Alex Claudio (30, -0.1)
• Ross Detwiler (36, -0.1)
• Jace Fry (28, -0.1)
• Nick Vincent (35, -0.1)
• Jeurys Familia (32, -0.1)
• Oliver Drake (35, -0.1)
• Austin Pruitt (32, -0.1)
• Stephen Nogosek (27, -0.1)
• Ryne Harper (33, -0.1)
• Luke Farrell (31, -0.1)
• Preston Guilmet (34, -0.1)
• Ramón Rosso (26, -0.1)
• Joe Palumbo (27, -0.1)
• Robert Stock (32, -0.1)
• Luis Avilán (32, -0.2)
• Robert Gsellman (28, -0.2)
• Luís Madero (25, -0.2)
• Keone Kela (29, -0.2)
• Trevor Megill (28, -0.2)
• Chris Devenski (31, -0.2)
• Marcos Diplán (25, -0.2)
• Bryan Shaw (34, -0.2)
• Ian Gibaut (28, -0.2)
• Adam Morgan (32, -0.3)
• Travis Bergen (28, -0.3)
• Kyle Barraclough (32, -0.3)
• Jairo Díaz (31, -0.3)
• Nick Wittgren (31, -0.3)
• Eric Yardley (31, -0.3)
• Brad Brach (36, -0.4)
• Ryan Weber (31, -0.4)
• Shelby Miller (31, -0.4)
• Justin Miller (35, -0.4)
• Brandon Kintzler (37, -0.5)
• Heath Hembree (33, -0.5)
• Ian Kennedy (37, -0.6)
• Dan Winkler (32, -0.6)
• Wade Davis (36, -0.6)
• Andrew Albers (36, -0.6)
• Brandon Workman (33, -0.7)
• Nate Jones (36, -1.0)
• Sam Delaplane (27, N/A)
• Jose Castillo (26, N/A)
• Trey Wingenter (28, N/A)

While it's easy to fantasize about a Kenley Jansen making Citifield his new home, that level of relief pitcher is likely not what's on the Mets' radar.  Edwin Diaz may not be the automatic he was in Seattle, but his record is far better than the vast number of closers and the job is his until he chooses to leave or the Mets decide to trade him away.  

One interesting gamble on this list is former All Star level closer who returned in 2020 to pitch like a highly effective weapon.  Trevor Rosenthal has had more than his share of injuries including 2021's hip labrum surgery that caused him to miss the season, but the bonafides are definitely there and even though he could turn into Dellin Betances II, there's also a chance that once he's healed he's the pitcher with a career 3.36 ERA and 132 saves.  He'd be available at a steep discount right now and it might be worth stashing him away until he's healthy.

Also with 132 career saves is 37 year old Steve Cishek.  He's moved from closer to setup over the past several years but still owns a career ERA of just 2.85.  The tall righthander could be a good fit in the Mets bullpen offering up a very different look -- a sidearmer.  Get past the horrid images you might have of others that failed with this delivery and instead remember how many quality innings Jeff Innis provided to the Mets during his seven years at Shea.  

There are many others who have flashed brilliance, were formerly brilliant or who you gamble will turn brilliant.  The point here is that all it takes is money to sign whomever you want as opposed to the trades that the club may also have up its sleeve.  Some reinforcements are needed and when the lockout ends the Mets better have a bunch of meetings to talk to players and player agents on day one.