Mets: Add Justin Wilson to the short list of good offseason moves

Justin Wilson has been superb out of the New York Mets bullpen. We can add him to the short list of favorable offseason moves made by Brodie Van Wagenen.

The list of good moves made by the New York Mets during the offseason is a small one. Many of us like the J.D. Davis trade and Walker Lockett has shown some promise for a better future. Considering it took a Kevin Plawecki trade to acquire him, we can at least call this a stalemate with the Cleveland Indians.

A free agent signing which has begun to pay off much better is the Justin Wilson deal. The veteran lefty signed a two-year deal with the Mets over the winter. Since returning from a lengthy IL stint, he has been everything the Mets needed him to be.

Alongside Seth Lugo, Wilson is one of two relief pitchers Mickey Callaway can trust in late innings. He’s recording big outs for the Mets and has worked as more than a left-handed specialist. Wilson is a straight-up left-handed reliever who can get batters from both sides of the plate out.

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Through a growing sample-size still in its early stages of meaning a whole lot, we have seen Wilson execute well on the mound. He’s not doing it with strikeouts either. With a still high walk rate and a lower total of strikeouts than we might expect from him, he has somehow managed to survive many recent late-inning outings for New York.

Those who value more advanced analytics may have a different declaration on Wilson’s season. His FIP is high, however, a number like this often punishes low-strikeout and high-walk pitchers while rewarding the opposite.

For Wilson, it’s his sub-3.00 ERA which tells a better tale. He’s allowing runners to reach base, but they aren’t getting too far beyond first base. This is all we can hope for from him and any other reliever.

Brodie Van Wagenen took plenty of heat from a poor offseason. The Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade was the highlight of the bad. Other poor decisions, such as the Keon Broxton trade and decision to sign the everlasting MIA veteran infielder Jed Lowrie were also failures.

Until recently, there was also reason to question the Wilson Ramos signing. Much like Wilson, the Buffalo has been a big part of the team’s second-half success.

Wilson hardly makes up for these bad moves, including the one which brought Jeurys Familia back to Flushing for three years. Fortunately, he does give this team a fighting chance moving forward.

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Only a handful of the Mets brought in over the winter have been as good as advertised. Wilson is now one of them.

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