NY Mets: Five bullpen trade targets for the 2020 August deadline

The New York Mets need bullpen help to compete in 2020. These five names would be a huge help.

For a number of years, the biggest problem the New York Mets have had has been their bullpen production. Since 2017, the Mets have the second-highest bullpen ERA at 4.92, ranking only in front of the Orioles at a 5.01.

Because of this, Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen decided to trade away top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn to the Mariners in exchange for Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano back in the 2018-2019 offseason. The main motivation of this trade was to finally get that lockdown closer the Mets had been missing.

Unfortunately, this trade has been a complete and utter disaster for the Mets. Edwin Diaz following an outstanding 2018 season in which he recorded 57 saves and had a 1.96 ERA has been just downright awful for the Mets. In 2019 he recorded just 26 saves and had a 5.59 ERA. The big issue with Diaz was the home run ball. He gave up 15 home runs, all of them in the ninth inning which set a record for the most home runs in the ninth inning against a single reliever.

The rest of the bullpen hasn’t fared much better. The best arm in the pen the Mets have is Seth Lugo. He’s coming off of a great 2019 season and can give the Mets multiple innings out of the pen. The only problem is that Lugo is pitching with a partially torn UCL. Because of this, when Lugo goes multiple innings, he is generally not able to be used on back-to-back days.

The Mets bullpen also has guys like Jeurys Familia and Dellin Betances. Familia is coming off of an awful 2019 in which he pitched to a 5.70 ERA and Betances pitched only recorded 2 outs in 2019 due to a shoulder injury and a torn Achilles.

The Mets bullpen certainly has the potential to be great, but that has not been the case so far in the 2020 season. Already the Mets have blown a number of games they should have won, most notably a game in Atlanta which they had an 8-2 lead in and the bullpen let get away. Some days guys look sharp, other days they don’t.

The bottom line is this bullpen needs help and needs it fast. These five relievers can make a huge impact on a run to the postseason for the Mets in 2020.

Kirby Yates

The National League leader in saves in 2019 is an excellent trade target for this Mets team that desperately needs help closing out games. Yates, 33, had a 1.19 ERA, 41 saves, and struck out 15 batters per nine innings. It was an outstanding season for the Padres closer.

Fortunately for the Mets, he’s in a contract year. Because of this, a team that isn’t a World Series contender for this season like the Padres might be willing to give him up to try to get value for him.

Also, the Padres just traded for Emilio Pagan this past offseason. Pagan is younger and has more team control. He can certainly fill in to be their closer, and they also have solid arms like Craig Stammen and Drew Pomeranz.

I also believe the Mets won’t have to give up a top prospect since Yates will be a rental. While he is not someone I would like them to extend long term, he is certainly an upgrade this bullpen needs for this season.

Brad Hand

Brad Hand is a much harder target for the Mets to get, but not out of the question. Last year Hand was on the trade block and was almost traded at the deadline to the Dodgers. Hand has been a top closer in all of baseball the last couple of years and is also a lefty which is something the Mets could use. Their only reliable lefty in the pen is Justin Wilson who like Seth Lugo, struggles to pitch on back to back days.

Hand would be a reliable back end of the bullpen arm the Mets desperately need. However, Hand has one more year of control after this one which will undoubtedly make him harder to trade for. I do still think the Mets can get it done.

The Indians have young reliever James Karinchak and a plethora of other options like Oliver Perez, Nick Wittgren, and Adam Cimber to help hold down the fort.

Trading Hand would give them more financial flexibility to improve in other places or to potentially extend Francisco Lindor. The Mets would have to give up something, but I don’t believe it would take a top prospect to get Hand to New York. Depending on how much the Mets would have to trade, Hand is a great target for the Mets.

Mychal Givens

One of the more underrated relievers in all of baseball is Mychal Givens. For years, he has been solid in the back end of the Orioles bullpen. While 2019 was his worst season, there is a very clear reason why, and there is reason to believe he has lots of upside.

In 2019, Givens allowed 13 home runs in 63 innings. This makes out to 1.9 home runs per nine innings. In the 63 innings he pitched in last year, he struck out 86 hitters, giving him 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Givens pitched for an awful Orioles team in a very hitter-friendly ballpark, facing top offenses like the Yankees and Red Sox 19 times last year. It’s very clear Givens has great stuff, and in the right situation, might thrive. Givens is under contract through the 2021 season so he would give the Mets a whole extra year on top of what he does this year.

Due to the Orioles being really bad, they likely won’t value Givens that highly and would rather move him for something than lose him for nothing. Would be a great low-risk high reward arm for the Mets to go after.