Mike's Mets - Do the Mets Have a Playoff-Caliber Bullpen?

 

By Mike Steffanos

Winning is awesome, but the bullpen is still a huge question mark for the Mets.

The New York Mets have enjoyed strong starting pitching early on this season, despite the absence of Jacob deGrom. Running the second-highest payroll in MLB allowed them the luxury of adding Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt to the rotation, giving them a level of depth they never enjoyed in the years that the Wilpons were signing the checks. Not only have the two additions pitched well, but they've also clearly taken on a role as mentors to young pitchers such as Tylor Megill and David Peterson. It's one thing to sign a bunch of guys to reverse the fortunes of a ball club, but it's every bit as essential to have the right mix of guys in the clubhouse. The early returns are positive in that area.

On the other hand, GM Billy Eppler took quite a different approach to build his bullpen for the season, and the early results have been quite mixed for the relief corps. Edwin Díaz blew a save in Arizona on one lousy pitch but has generally looked pretty good. After 3 seasons in New York, you know what you're going to get from Díaz: overpowering stuff and occasional struggles with command.

The primary setup men going into the year were Trevor May and Seth Lugo. May has spent time on the Injured List and has given up runs in 3 of his 5 appearances. Trevor has also already allowed 2 HR. Lugo had an excruciatingly bad outing against the rival Phillies but has also looked good at times. Lugo had a couple of solid outings in Arizona this weekend, and his breaking pitches were working in both games. But Seth has allowed 8 hits, 4 walks, and a home run in 7.2 IP. That 1.57 WHIP isn't what you want to see from one of your top relievers.

Going into the season, I really expected the Mets to add a late-inning reliever to the bullpen mix, particularly since they failed to re-sign Aaron Loup. Instead, the Mets signed Adam Ottavino to replace Jeurys Familia, brought in Chasen Shreve on a minor league deal, and traded  Miguel Castro for journeyman lefty Joely Rodríguez.

The results have been mixed for this group. Rodríguez allowed runs in 3 of his first 4 outings but has pitched much better in his last 4 games. Trusted with the ninth inning on Sunday, with the game still very much in reach, Joely gifted Mets fans with a no-drama inning. Ottavino allowed his first run in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday but has given up 2 hits in 3 of his 6 appearances. Shreve has been the best of this group so far. While he is extremely unlikely to give the Mets what Loup gave them last season, Chasen can get right-handers out as well as lefties and looks like a valuable member of the bullpen.

I picked Drew Smith as an X factor for this bullpen in my season preview. I had reasonably high expectations for the 28-year-old righty, but he's been even better than I could have hoped for. At least so far, Smith has given the Mets the late-inning reliever they failed to acquire before the season. Of course, shoulder inflammation ended Smith's 2021 season in August, and the 41 innings he pitched last year mark a career major league high for Drew. The Mets and Drew Smith are optimistic for Smith to make it through an entire season in the bullpen. As Mets fans, we can only hope that Smith enjoys some luck with his health in a year when his bullpen role is trending towards high-leverage situations.

The rest of the bullpen is the standard MLB crapshoot of arms. Trevor Williams is filling the long man/spot starter role with mixed results, mostly not good. Sean Reid-Foley has had a couple of tough outings but has been okay in his other appearances. Still, when the rosters go down to 26 on May 1, Reid-Foley may well find himself in Syracuse. Below him are pitchers like Adonis Medina and Yoan López, who any fan of the original Star Trek series will recognize as prototypical redshirts. Even striking out the side in his one appearance didn't keep Medina off the shuttle back to Syracuse.

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