Reese Kaplan -- Are In-House Southpaw Relievers Really an Option?

We recently took a look at the late acquisition of Tommy Pham as a 4th outfielder, possible right handed DH candidate and otherwise a seemingly ho-hum entry into the roster construction when earlier in the off season there were certainly more high profile and perhaps more palatable names available. 

Now the Mets have secured the services of a guy with power, some speed and the ability to play the corners in the outfield. It's not an earth shattering find but it was a pretty good one at a relatively bargain price.

The same situation is facing them once again when it comes to an addition to the bullpen and it would seem that the less-than-stellar options are what's likely facing the front office right now. 

 While everyone would love to see them secure an Andrew Chafin or Brad Hand or someone of that ilk, it would appear that the situation is somewhat parallel to the RH 4th outfielder circumstance where players have pride and ego. 

 They want to be entrusted to be something more than an afterthought on the roster and as such going to play for the New York Mets bullpen when they already have Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson, Brooks Raley, Drew Smith and others will not necessarily offer up the playing time desired.

So lets go the other way and take a look at who is available in-house for the Mets to add to the roster going north as April begins and see whether or not any of them have as much to offer as the Nth level free agent or trade options that would bring in lesser talents from the outsides.

David Peterson

We all know the often capable David Peterson primarily as a starting pitcher, but if the club goes into the season with the expected starting five of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and Carlos Carrasco, then Peterson becomes at best an emergency starter but could also be recast at this relatively early state of his career as a southpaw reliever. 

His big league numbers are encouraging but not mind blowing. He's a tick over .500 with a winning record, having started 43 of his 53 games. His career ERA is 4.26 which is 5th starter material at best, so it's possible he could reinvent himself as a support relief pitcher. 

His control is a bit suspect but he's fanned better than 1 per IP, so it's not the craziest idea in the world. Of course, it's also possible they find him more valuable as a starter working every 5th day in Syracuse, but consider him one of the available options.

Joey Lucchesi

After arriving from San Diego and quickly hitting the IL with injury, Lucchesi has been an overall disappointment. He's now 29 years of age and sports a losing major league record but with a 4.24 ERA, so it suggests there is some talent there. 

 Like Peterson, he's struck out more than 1 per IP, but his control is better as he maintains about a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. After having missed much of 2021 and all of 2022, he's back once again and hopefully willing to atone for his paycheck that delivered nothing to his employer. 

 For his career he's started 66 of 70 games in which he's appeared, so the transition to middle reliever is going to be even tougher than it would be for Peterson, but after missing so much time due to injury it might be prudent to ease him into a heavy workload by having him appear or only an inning or two at a time. Once again, we see an alternative but not one that jumps off the page.

Tayler Saucedo

This pitcher was hardly a household name when the Mets acquired him from the Blue Jays. His career in the minors was split between starting and relieving. He won a number of minor league pitching accolades and awards, but his brief intro to the majors in 2021 and 2022 were nothing to brag about. 

In 2021 exclusively as a reliever he had a 1.96 ERA and in 2022 also working out of the pen he finished with a 2.25 ERA. His 12+ strikeouts per 9 IP were outstanding and he has shown stellar control at times in his career as well. It is understandable that the Mets took a gamble on him, but coming into 2023 at age 29 never having made it before suggests he might be a AAAA type rather than a solid choice.

Josh Walker

Perhaps the most interesting name on this list, Walker has converted late in his minor league career from starter to reliever. The Mets saw enough of him at his advanced baseball playing age to send him to the Arizona Fall League to let him continue to work on his new role. 

He is turning 28 and not yet made the majors, but he's always shown good strikeout ability and decent control. He's not currently on the 40-man roster, so someone would have to go to make room for him. Between he and Saucedo who are truly slated to be relievers, they may represent the two better options than the forcibly converted starters.