Mets: Jacob Rhame failed to make the most of his chance in 2018

The New York Mets gave Jacob Rhame plenty of opportunities to come up big this season. Sadly, he fell well short of earning a permanent bullpen spot.

We’ve seen enough of New York Mets relief pitcher Jacob Rhame to know he doesn’t belong in the big leagues. In a year where several Triple-A and even some Double-A arms are getting big league innings, Rhame is wasting away his chance on the mound.

Following up on his 9 earned runs in 9 innings in 2017, the player to be named later in the Curtis Granderson trade is once again pushing a run per inning rate. Mostly, it’s due to the home run ball.

In 20.1 innings this season, Rhames has given up 7 home run balls. The pattern began last year when two batters took him deep in the 9 completed frames. As of now, he owns a 7.97 ERA in 2018 and an 8.28 ERA for his career.

The only positive from this year is that Rhame seems to have better command. His walk rate is good. Every other statistic, not so much.

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There’s nothing shocking at this point to see an ERA as high as his. Starter Jason Vargas set a low bar which several bullpen arms seem hopeful to match. I can’t really blame them, though. Many belong in the minor leagues, which, Rhame now is following a transaction on Sunday.

Rhame is one of several guys who was given a chance to prove themselves only to fail. Tim Peterson started off well, but hit a wall and saw his time in the big leagues come to a close, at least temporarily. He’s the guy who will replace Rhames on the Mets roster for the time being.

I worry the same crash will happen to Tyler Bashlor soon enough. The hard-throwing righty has been luckier than good so far.

Let’s also not forget Paul Sewald whose lengthier big league stint has been a poor one in 2018. The man is 0-10 in his MLB career with a below-average ERA. At 28, there’s not much hope he becomes more than an innings eater.

Younger guys like Rhame still have some hope of latching onto a roster spot with the Mets. However, when you’re the worst of the bunch and surrendering home runs like it’s the late 1990s, it’s tough to justify a roster spot.

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We haven’t seen the last of Rhame with the Mets. Unfortunately, we may have seen the best.