Mets Rumors: Lefty reliever Justin Wilson is an arm the bullpen needs

The New York Mets need a left-handed reliever. One they should target is Chicago Cubs southpaw Justin Wilson.

During the 2017 MLB playoffs, I made a little suggestion that the New York Mets should go after Justin Wilson. Even with a poor start to the season, that still might not be a bad idea. After all, their bullpen looks pretty empty with Jerry Blevins as the team’s lone lefty.

Last season, Wilson was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline. Before the trade, he was the team’s best closer and had a 2.68 ERA.

Ever since being traded to the Cubs, he hasn’t been able to pitch the same again. He finished the season with a 3.41 ERA and was ultimately left off their NLCS roster.

He just couldn’t be trusted. But there is a silver lining, and that’s the fact that he can pitch well anywhere else.

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Wilson closed out April with ten games under his belt and a 5.59 ERA. He’s only pitched two games at Wrigley Field so far and posted a 21.60 ERA. Seventy-five percent of his road outings were scoreless, resulting in a 2.25 ERA.

From this, we can draw the conclusion that the problem is not as much Wilson as it is the park he pitches half his games.

It’s not just this season that Wilson is pitching poorly at Wrigley. This was the case last year as well. Last season, Wilson played in 12 games at Wrigley and posted a 7.56 ERA.  Since joining the Cubs, his ERA in all road outings was 2.65.

Wilson could benefit greatly from pitching in Citi Field. The Mets bullpen would also benefit from his 12.1 K/9 rates and the possibility of a decreased ERA.

Entering May, the Mets had the 11^th best team ERA in baseball and a revived Wilson would really help the team down the line.

Wilson probably wouldn’t even cost all that much to acquire. He’s already been demoted once, is pitching to Kenley Jansen numbers, and will be a free agent next season. The Cubs might even be glad to send him off.

Next: Mets: Kenley Jansen’s struggles a warning sign for Jeurys Familia’s future

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Regardless of how well the Mets perform over these next few weeks, this is one player that the team should put some serious thought into.