Reese Kaplan -- The Annual Rebuild the Pen FA Challenge is Here

For the Mets in the offseason it always seems the bullpen is being rebuilt from scratch.  This year is no different.  Unless unexpected trades happen causing the club to part ways with returning talents like Edwin Diaz, Jose Butto, Reed Garrett and Dedniel Nunez, well, the rest of the spots are pretty much wide open.  Considering how much the club struggled once the starting pitchers left the game there are some big shoes that must be filled.

One thing to bear in mind is that a young closer like Diaz is not being pushed aside for someone else.  That means bonafide closers on the open market likely aren’t going to consider the Mets a choice at all, let alone a top choice.  Why take less money, NOT rake up saves and ensure future higher earnings when the 9th inning belongs to Diaz?  For the Mets I’d figure a lot more energy is going to be spent on the 5th through 8th inning types who cost less now and for the future. 

Available Top Level Pen Arms

• Tanner Scott — Hard throwing southpaw Scott may be an exception to the no-closers rule.  He’s left handed.  Diaz is right handed.  He earns relatively little at $6.75 million.   A modest bump to say $10 million would give the Mets a formidable lefty/righty dual closer and valuable insurance if Diaz once again loses his way once again.  It would also open up a Diaz trade possibility if Scott is able to show once again he’s premier quality.
• Jeff Hoffman — Up through 2022 Hoffman was a filler type of relief pitcher.  However, in the last two years with the Phillies he kicked it up several notches, finishing consecutive years with an ERA well under 3.00.  He’s already 32 years old and had just 10 saves as an alternative closer, so he wouldn’t break the bank nor necessarily find a setup role unappealing.  His last salary was just $2.2 million, so think of him as an Adam Ottavino alternative.
• David Robertson — The man may already be 40 years old, but he really knows how to pitch.  His time in New York for both clubs was outstanding and right now he’s holding a 66-46 career record with a 2.91 ERA.  Last season he ticked up a little to 3.00 but still struck out batters with ease.  He earned $10 million with the Rangers last year and has a $7.5 million option or $1.5 million buyout.  Word is out that the Rangers are looking to slash payroll, so putting a lot of greenbacks into a 41 year old’s pocket may not seem appealing.  A commitment to him may just be a single year with a 2nd year option.  
• Aroldis Chapman — While his closing days are over, he certainly has the resume to suggest he’s a tough mound opponent.  He’s still fanning people at will with over 100 mph heat even at age 37.  He shared some closing duties this past season but since 2021 he’s been more of a setup kind of guy.  Money is going to be a challenge here as he earned $10.5 million from Pittsburgh of all unlikely places.  If he can close he’ll probably mirror that number.  However, as he turns 38 he may be slated as a setup guy and it could me less (particularly when you factor in his high number of walks to accompany those gaudy strikeout numbers).  He’s interesting to consider but not a top choice anymore.
• Clay Holmes — From 2021 when a midyear trade sent him from Pittsburgh to the Yankees Holmes has pitched to a 22-17 record with a 3.01 ERA.  That’s what you want in a middle reliever.  His WHIP is 1.167 and his 3:1 Strikeout to Walk ratio looks mighty nice.  In terms of money, he’s leaving the Bronx having enjoyed a final Yankee contract of $6 million.  He’s probably going to get a modest increase and will likely want multiple years. 
• Kenley Jansen — Another former closer who was among the elite still can bring quality effort to the mound during his age 37 season.  In his two years in Boston since leading the league in saves for Atlanta in 2022, he gave the Red Sox 29 and 27 saves.  The ERA has jumped from his career mark of 2.57 to the 3.50 range as he is aging, but he’s likely going to consider a transition to setup when the 2025 season finds him turning age 38.  His paycheck is not small.  He earned $16 million each of the past three years and though he’ll likely get a bit less, it’s not going to drop below $10 million per year.  That’s a lot of money for someone on the down side of his career and you have to wonder if his size will start working against him. 
• Chris Martin — A career middle reliever, the 6’8” Martin has notched quality innings for several seasons as evidenced by his 3.38 ERA.  The big down side to me is his $9.5 million paycheck from Boston.  It would seem he’s looking for an increase and for a middle reliever that’s getting to the point of being unjustifiable. 
• Carlos Estévez — The big man picked a great time to excel as a reliever.  After a somewhat nondescript career in the pen, over the past two years combined for the Angels and Phillies he’s been pretty much near the top group of big league relievers.  For the 2023/2024 span he’s saved 57 games and kept the ERA down to 3.22 while striking out nearly 10 per 9 IP.  He’s last earned $6.7 million and likely wants to close full time, so he’s probably not on the Mets’ radar.
• Danny Coulombe — Unless the Baltimore Orioles took a severe blow to their collective heads, there’s no way they will pass on Coulombe’s option.  For his entire career he is 3.52 ERA pitcher but in 2024 he went 1-0 over 33 games with a 2.02 ERA.  Yes, he’ll turn 36 in 2025, but this southpaw should be at the top of everyone’s bid list if he becomes a free agent.  For $4 million the Orioles would be crazy to let him go.
• Kirby Yates — In seven of his ten major league season Yates was a middle reliever.  He was in a shared role in one other season, led the league in saves for the Padres back in 2019 and then returned to that role for the Rangers in 2023 when he notched 33 at the age of 38.  At his age he’s likely trending down in price and also more inclined to be deployed as a setup guy.  His ending payday was $6.75 million in combined salary/buyout option, so expect him to sign a single year deal at that rate or less and a multiyear deal at perhaps $5 million per season.
• Jakob Junis — A pitcher David Stearns knows well is Brewers reliever Jakob Junis.  His career was nothing much until 2023 when we put together fine numbers which he mirrored in 2024.  There is a mutual option for 2025 which Junis might want to let slide given Milwaukee for a non closer would be paying him $8 million which seems a bit high.  On the other hand, the buyout is a hefty $3 million so the ball may be in Junis’ court to remain a Brewer.  If he is bought out, then expect Stearns to be all over him for his past two years of success.
• Brent Suter — Another pitcher Stearns had as a Brewer is southpaw Brent Suter who has since spent the past two seasons in Colorado and Cincinnati respectively.  Earning a very reasonable $2.5 million last year, he was in 47 games and finished with a 1-0 record and an ERA of 3.15.  The option is for $3.5 million this season or a $250K buyout.  The Reds can’t be silly enough to try to save a few bucks on that kind of performance, but if they do I’d grab this soft tossing lefty in a heartbeat. 
• Luke Weaver — He’s another one of those guys who suddenly put it together in his free agent year.  For the Yankees in 2024 he went 7-3 with a 2.89 ERA that covered 84 innings of work.   At $3.5 million for the upcoming year you’d think he’d be an automatic to stay in the Bronx, but waiting until his age 31 season finally to find it could be an outlier.  Still, he’s worth exploring if he becomes available. 

There are a great many relievers from other organizations who are also worth considering, but I drew an arbitrary WAR of 1.5 as my line in the sand to whittle down the top tier talents while excluding others who had poor histories or tremendous control issues.  For example, there are some high flyers on the missing list including Craig Kimbrel who has not had a stellar year since 2018 and is earning over $13 million.  Now you can see why the list is missing some seemingly credible options.

Is there anyone out there worth exploring on your free agent short list?