Mets spoke with Craig Breslow; No deal imminent

The Mets had a face-to-face meeting with lefty reliever Craig Breslow on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. However, a deal is not expected imminently.

The Mets are expected to add a veteran lefty reliever to pair with Josh Edgin, and reports last week indicated that they would like to have that reliever under contract before the Winter Meetings end on Thursday. Sandy Alderson has said that he would like to limit any deal for a lefty reliever to one guaranteed season.

Earlier in the offseason, it was noted that the Mets had interest in Breslow but that the club would be open to pretty much every left-handed reliever on the market with the exception of the recently signed Andrew Miller. Another potential option, Zach Duke, signed a three-year, $15 million deal last month with the White Sox.

Breslow, 34, posted a 5.96 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 54.1 innings pitched spanning 60 games.

Prior to his poor season in 2014, Breslow had six straight very productive seasons. His ERA over those seasons ranged from 1.91 to 3.79.

Thoughts:

While Breslow was quite good between 2008 and 2013, his results in 2014 were incredibly alarming. He wouldn’t be at the top of my list if I was in Sandy Alderson’s place.

Along with Breslow’s drop in production in 2014 was a continued dip in velocity.

From 2011 to 2014, Breslow’s average fastball velocity has dropped from an average of 91.1 MPH to an average of 88.4 MPH.

If Breslow can be had on a reasonable deal – perhaps $2 million or so for one season – the Mets could considering biting with the hope that 2014 was an aberration. However, if Breslow’s demands are much higher than that, the Mets should turn their attention elsewhere.

Aside from Breslow, other lefty relievers on the free agent market include Joe Beimel, Neal Cotts, Scott Downs, Joe Thatcher, Wesley Wright, Franklin Morales, and Josh Outman.