Paul Articulates - Winter Meetings

The transactions during last week’s winter meetings did not play out as many Mets fans had hoped, losing not only Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, but also losing Tyler Rogers to Toronto.  Ryan Helsley was signed by Baltimore before the winter meetings.

The transactions may or may not have gone according to David Stearns’ plan, and we will not know for a while because he is not tipping his hand.  His public comments so far have been non-reactive, implying that this is just another week in the process.

I am a little more worried about where things stack up, particularly in the bullpen.  Losing Diaz certainly was a blow for everyone involved.  Many fans may have been happy to see Helsley go, but I think he was just having a bad stretch that started with pitch tipping and continued through the impact of his adjustments.  2026 may see him rise back to the top tier of closers.  Tyler Rogers had not spent too much time with the Mets as he was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline, but what we saw was a durable arm that could get outs.  And now he got out.  That leaves the Mets with a substantially weakened bullpen to relieve a very inadequate starting rotation.

There have been enough articles about the starting pitching to satisfy everyone for now, or at least until a big name SP1 dons a Mets uniform.  I think that the next area of focus has to be on strengthening the relief core.  Devin Williams is now the closer – no doubt in my mind.  But to set him up, the Mets currently only have the staff that couldn’t save it last year.  AJ Minter will be back from a year on injured reserve at the advanced age of 33.  Dedniel Nunez should also be back after his injury, but it is tough to know what to expect.

The returning staff that pitched last year includes Brooks Raley, Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban, Justin Hagenman, and Richard Lovelady.  I was very happy with Raley’s performance last year and Garrett had his moments.  Brazoban was so inconsistent that he was sent down during a critical stretch in September.  The other two are, well, the other two.

It is time for the Mets to get very aggressive to obtain some quality relief arms.  The best ones left could be former Cub Brad Keller or former Ray Pete Fairbanks.  Fairbanks had a 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 27 saves in 32 opportunities.  He could pair well with Raley as a righty/lefty setup team in the eight inning.  Keller (also a righty) had a 2.10 ERA and 0.98 WHIP.  He was not used as a closer but he did record 3 saves last season in 6 chances.  Keller is a big guy at 6’5” and 255 pounds and has very positive statcast metrics on everything from his 97mph fastball to his 99th percentile hard-hit %.  Keller would be my preference, but as long as there is money left on the table, how about both?

Adding two quality relievers to the pen would allow the Mets to bring along their minor league talent at a more reasonable pace.  Many have suggested that Dylan Ross is going to be ready on opening day 2026, and that may be true, but I don’t think he is 8th inning ready at that early stage.  Let’s not put him into a pressure cooker on day one.

I would be remiss not to mention Clay Holmes in this discussion, as he has seen time as a closer with the Yankees before his conversion to starter with the Mets.  Holmes performed admirably last year in the starting rotation and was one of the more reliable arms down the stretch even though people thought he would become arm tired because of the high innings thrown.  It is a possibility, but I am pretty sure Homes would like to stay where he is, and with the current state of the starting rotation, the Mets may be reluctant to move him to the pen.

Keep your eye on the wires, folks.  It is time for the Mets to lay down some contract ink.