Mets: An unforeseen triple threat out of the bullpen worth bringing back

Three unheralded arms out of the New York Mets bullpen have provided the ballclub with consistent results this season.

The New York Mets came into the 2020 campaign with their bullpen being featured as one of the strengths of the team. Many were expecting the likes of Jeurys Familia, Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, and Edwin Diaz to lock down the late innings and provide the Mets with an advantage that many other teams did not have at the end of the game. Unfortunately, those plans haven’t quite come to fruition.

Familia has again struggled with bouts of inconsistency in the second year of his three year $30 million deal, while Lugo has moved into the starting rotation due to a lack of bodies available to pitch. Dellin Betances has struggled to say the least with diminished velocity and is on the Injured List with right lat tightness. While Edwin Diaz has shown glimpses of promise in short spurts, he is still struggling with giving up the long ball, as well as closing out games.

What many did not expect were three pitchers who were not highly regarded coming into the season keeping the Mets bullpen afloat with consistent results and eating up quality innings. Those three pitchers I’m referencing are left-hander Chasen Shreve, as well as right-handers Brad Brach and Jared Hughes.

Each of these three pitchers has provided a boost to a Mets pitching staff that has sorely lacked any semblance of consistency, and it’s fair to wonder where the bullpen would be at this point without their contributions. I wanted to take a look into each of these three relievers’ remarkable results this season and whether each pitcher should have a role with the Mets in 2021.

Chasen Shreve

Chasen Shreve came to the Mets on a minor league contract this past offseason after never really finding his footing with the St. Louis Cardinals last season. To say the results have been more than the Mets could have expected would be an understatement, as it can be argued that Shreve has been the most valuable piece out of the Mets bullpen this season. The 30-year old southpaw is on track to have the lowest ERA of his career and has done most of his work with multiple inning appearances.

Shreve’s strikeouts per nine innings this season are currently on track to be the highest of his career and his batting average of balls in play is the lowest of his career as well. You could possibly attribute those numbers to his average four-seam fastball velocity being almost two MPH higher than it was last season at 92.1 with his split-finger velocity also coming in almost two MPH higher as well at 83.9 MPH.

Plain and simple Shreve has improved his game all around and has made himself some money this offseason. It would make total sense for the Mets to re-sign Shreve this offseason as one of their main left-handed options out of the bullpen, especially with a fellow southpaw in Justin Wilson hitting the open market as well.

Shreve is arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter before becoming a free agent in 2022. With the way Shreve has pitched for the Mets this season, you can fully expect him to return to the Mets bullpen next spring.

Brad Brach

Brad Brach has provided nothing but value and consistency for the Mets since coming over from the Chicago Cubs after his release last August.

Before Brach’s disastrous tenure with the Chicago Cubs, the 34-year old right-hander was widely regarded as one of the top relievers in baseball, especially during his four and half seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Brach was even a member of the American League All-Star team back in 2016 representing the Orioles.

Similar to Jared Hughes, Brach has changed up his repertoire a bit this season. Brach has been using his fastball significantly less this season and throwing his cutter more which he began to establish as a permanent pitch last season. Establishing that cutter and relying less on his slider and fastball have certainly helped play a part in Brach’s success over the past year with the Mets.

It’s tough to envision what the Mets would look like without Brach in the bullpen, as he has been able to come through in some big moments for the Amazins not only this season but last season as well. He has firmly placed himself as a key piece in the Mets bullpen moving forward.

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Brach has a player option for 2021 that he can extend if he wishes to return to the Mets next season. With Brach growing up a lifelong Mets fan and currently living out his dream, it’s hard to envision him not extending his player option. If he declines his option to hit the open market, there will be plenty of suitors but I can’t envision the Mets allowing him to get away after how crucial of a role he has played in middle relief.