Mike's Mets - Man the Lifeboats, Part 3

 

By Mike Steffanos

We continue our search for hope that the Mets can turn their season around with a look at the bullpen.

The New York Mets have just won their series against the Rays by taking the rubber game this afternoon. It was difficult to see that coming after the team had struggled so mightily for weeks. It would have been so easy for them to let down this afternoon after winning an improbable victory last night that was easily the signature game of the season up to this point. But Tylor Megill had his best performance of 2023, and the team did just enough to take it to the finish line. Although I hesitate to place too much importance on very small sample sizes, it's fair to say the success of the last two days gives the Mets something on which to build and work themselves back into the playoff chase.

Over the past couple of posts, we took a deep dive into the Mets' starting pitching and position players. I hoped the kids would help pull the club out of the doldrums. That was the case last night, and that's a great sign. One note of worry, however. Are the Mets really considering sending Francisco Álvarez back down in order to promote Gary Sánchez? I know the kid isn't setting things on fire currently, but the offense he has provided, slashing .218/.274/.423 through last night's win, is probably about what you could expect from Sánchez. Since 2018, his batting line is .202/.295/.427. That's a significant track record. Álvarez is still adjusting to the majors but is already providing what Sánchez's history tells us to expect. Francisco has upside. I know I don't have a vote here but, if I did, it would be to bid a fond farewell to Gary Sánchez. The Mets could defer this decision until Tomás Nido completes a rehab assignment, but that doesn't kick the can very far down the road.

Speaking of Nido, I thought the whole dry eye deal with Tomás was a phantom IL issue to take the struggling catcher out of the spotlight for a while. But, as reported yesterday, Nido's problems with his eyesight are real. I'm still skeptical of Tomás Nido ever being a productive hitter, even for a catcher, based on his track record. But that certainly won't happen if he can't see the ball. I hope this works out for him, as I do like the guy.

Anyway, today we'll move on to the bullpen. I doubt if it will require as many words as the starters and position players did. The bullpen hasn't been perfect. As my friend Mack Ade at Mack's Mets notes, the middle relief has been a weakness of the team so far, mostly because they have been overexposed due to the failure of the starters. Although the back-end crew of David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, and Drew Smith hasn't been perfect (including last night), they've been perfectly adequate. Brooks Raley has had some hiccups, but they mostly seem to be due to elbow inflammation, which landed the lefty on the IL for a time.

Unfortunately, what looked like a deep group before Edwin Díaz went down for the season is much less so without the closer. Robertson, Ottavino, and Smith have all been moved up to higher-leverage situations, necessitating the elevation of others by necessity rather than merit. And that's where things have been less than ideal.

The Mets gambled on John Curtiss by signing him to a contract last year when they knew he would miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. For a while this spring, it looked like the now-healthy Curtiss would step up and provide the Mets with some important innings. But Curtiss struggled with his command and was hit pretty hard. He is now in Syracuse trying to figure things out. He could really help the Mets if he can. John was an effective reliever in 2020 and 2021. Curtiss could provide the Mets with some important depth if he could return to form. Unfortunately, John is struggling in Triple-A currently, so any return is certainly not imminent.

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