Bullpen Help Remains Top Priority For Mets

Despite the Mets vaulting themselves back into playoff contention with a 16-6 record in June after beginning the month 11 games below .500, the club’s need for bullpen help has been further exacerbated leading up to the July 30 trade deadline.

New York’s pen was one of the team’s surprise strengths out of the gate, posting a National League-best 2.85 ERA in April while the team finished with a 15-11 record during that stretch. The unit was enhanced by the breakout of Reed Garrett, who posted a 0.57 ERA over 15 2/3 innings in April, in addition to the likes of Brooks Raley, Edwin Díaz, and Adam Ottavino all providing consistency and stability at the end of games.

Things, however, quickly nosedived as the season transitioned into May. The Mets’ downward spiral was all-encompassing, and at the heart of it was the bullpen. The team lost five games that they led after eight innings during that month as their relievers recorded a league-worst -1.1 fWAR while putting up a 4.88 ERA, upstaged only by the Pittsburgh Pirates for the worst total in the NL over that time period.

From the Jorge López debacle to Díaz’s struggles (8.68 ERA) and everything in between, the sky truly felt like it was falling for both the bullpen and the team as a whole before the season even reached its dog days.

Amidst the Mets’ run back to relevancy, their relievers have steadied to the tune of a 3.00 ERA in June, which ranks No. 9 in the league. There has still been some cause for concern, however, as the bullpen is responsible for a 4.15 ERA over the past seven days while a seeming lack of depth and reliable late-inning arms could come back to haunt the team should those shortcomings go unaddressed moving forward.

The most consequential piece of New York’s bullpen is, of course, Díaz. After a rough month of May that ended with him landing on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, he looked more like his old self in June with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.16 FIP across just three outings after returning on June 13.

A 10-game suspension after a sticky substance ejection against the Chicago Cubs on June 23 has more or less muddied the waters around Díaz and put the club in a tough spot for the time being, but overall there shouldn’t be too many concerns about his role or level of play down the stretch as the Mets’ closer.

Garrett has bounced back from his own struggles in May (6.08 ERA) with a 2.70 ERA and 2.85 FIP over 10 June innings while Dedniel Núñez has also been a bright spot with a 2.31 ERA over the first 14 appearances of his major league career, but the issue lies with almost everything else in the bullpen.

Manager Carlos Mendoza has recently avoided inserting Ottavino in any sort of high-leverage situation as he attempts to regain his footing while Sean Reid-Foley sits on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. The Mets may also be without Drew Smith for the rest of the campaign after disclosing to reporters that imaging on his right elbow showed substantial damage that may lead to the second Tommy John surgery of his career.

Even if Reid-Foley returns relatively quickly and continues to produce at a solid rate for the Mets, bullpen help will likely remain David Stearns’ top priority at the deadline should the team decide to plant their flag as buyers. With Raley out for the year due to Tommy John surgery as well and no true difference-makers that appear ready to make the leap to the big leagues quite yet in the upper levels of the minors, New York has a unique opportunity to completely shift the look of its relief corps over the next month.

It would appear improbable that the Mets splurge for one of the more expensive arms on the trade market such as Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins or Hunter Harvey of the Washington Nationals, though the reliever market is saturated enough that they should be able to find plenty of value elsewhere.

Potential targets that would make sense as fits include old friend David Robertson should the Texas Rangers fall completely out of the playoff race, Carlos Estévez of the Los Angeles Angels, Yimi García of the Toronto Blue Jays, Michael Kelly of the Oakland Athletics, and Brent Suter of the Cincinnati Reds.

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