New York Mets: Five best relievers to add to the bullpen this winter

As the New York Mets continue to round out their offseason, the bullpen has become an area that could be dominant with the right acquisitions

When the New York Mets signed Trevor May to a two-year deal, most people considered it a solid move to start the otherwise sluggish offseason. As quick as the ink dried on the contract, fans and experts alike turned their speculations to other areas of the roster the team would look to improve and understandably so.

Yet, while Mets fans are clamoring for new general manager Jared Porter to bring George Springer and/or Trevor Bauer to Queens next season, it would be a wise decision to add another top bullpen arm to their wishlist.

The sport has changed over the last decades with more and more teams building out their pitching to shorten the length of the game with loaded bullpens. For the Mets, handing the ball from their starting pitcher to a group that contains Trevor May, Seth Lugo, and Edwin Diaz is a luxury very few in the game have been afforded.

It’s a twist in the narrative as. in recent seasons, the Mets have been plagued by shaky bullpen arms. It took a very long and painful time for Diaz to figure out how to pitch in New York. Dellin Betances and Jeurys Familia were shells of themselves. The only saving grace the last two years has been Lugo’s gradual dominance.

The Mets certainly have other pressing needs, but it would be an emphatic punctuation if they were to sign another reliever, effectively giving them what could easily been assessed as a “super-pen”. With the front office and the fans setting their eyes on October baseball, the Mets could set themselves up as a series contender by bolstering the bullpen.

Here are the top five free agent relief pitchers the Mets should look to sign this winter.

Once upon a time, Trevor Rosenthal was a top closer in baseball. Could he regain his form in 2021 to help the New York Mets?

It might seem hard to remember, but just five years ago, Trevor Rosenthal was coming off back-to-back 45+ save seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, from 2013-2017, Rosenthal racked up 121 saves and was steadily cementing himself as a lights out closer. However, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2017, the flame-throwing right-hander missed all of 2018 and saw himself pitch for four different teams in two seasons.

Last year, Rosenthal split time between the Kansas City Royals and the San Diego Padres, throwing 22.2 innings to the tune of a 2.22 ERA. His short stint in San Diego (10 innings) proved to be a valuable one for the Padres; Rosenthal didn’t allow an earned run, struck out 17 and only allowed 4 of the 35 batters he faced to reach base.

It was a small sample, albeit a promising one, and could provide the Mets with huge value in the 2021 season. Rosenthal was roughed up heavily in 2019, the first season back from his Tommy John surgery, compiling a whopping 13.50 ERA in 15 innings pitched. While 2019 was ugly, it also suggest that the return from a major surgery had more to do with his ineffectiveness than a diminishing of his actual stuff.

The righty’s fastball sat at an average of 98 MPH last year, which is in line with his career as Rosenthal has been known to touch up to 101 MPH. At only 30-years old, there’s still plenty of room for Rosenthal to be an impact arm in the bullpen and while he may not secure a closing role on the Mets, he’s exactly the type of power arm that could prove to be effective in the later innings of close games.

With more than two years having passed since his Tommy John surgery, Rosenthal is trending upwards and the Mets would be wise to consider signing him. According to the offseason projections, Rosenthal is set to secure the same type of two-year deal as Treinen at $14 million, which could provide incredible value at that price for the Mets.

Last year, the Mets saw multiple pitchers in their closer role and in 2021, it would be wise to consider adding the 2019 saves leader

In 2019, no closer in baseball locked up more games than Kirby Yates. Having reinvented himself, predominantly through way of a devastating splitter, the right-hander took baseball by storm a year ago and after an on-its-head 2020, Yates is looking to re-establish his dominance once again.

2020 was brutal for Yates and that’s putting it kindly. In six games, the righty threw 4.1 innings, faced 25 batters and had a WHIP of 2.54, an ERA of 12.46 with a 5.27 FIP. The season would end abruptly, which was probably a blessing in disguise, as Yates would require surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow.

However, much like Trevor Rosenthal, despite the horrendous stint in 2020, it would be unwise to think the regression is permanent. Before 2020, Yates had back-to-back years of 60+ innings and while he wasn’t assuming the closer role full time in 2018, he was still incredibly effective with an ERA of 2.54 and a WHIP under 1.00.

Yates was a feel-good story as he made the all-star team in 2019, just two years after being claimed off waivers by the Padres. The rejuvenation of his splitter is what caused Yates to strikeout 101 batters in 60.2 innings pitched that year.

While this offseason is far from what Yates probably imagined coming off his all-star season a year ago, there’s still plenty of value that he possesses. The bone chips in his elbow were likely the cause of his ineffectiveness and given the time to recover from surgery, it could be to the Mets benefit to explore a low-cost, one-year deal for Yates.

It’s unsure if Yates is looking to sign somewhere that doesn’t promise a closer role, but given the down year in 2020, he’ll be looking to re-establish his value and Queens seems like just the place for him to do it.

The number one ranked free agent reliever could give the New York Mets one of the most dangerous bullpens in baseball heading into 2021

The New York Mets could make waves this offseason by acquiring Liam Hendriks to round out their bullpen. While competing for a chance in October is the goal for the Mets this upcoming season, adding Hendriks would make that goal much more obtainable.

The burly Australian is coming off his second consecutive season with a sub-one ERA after having been an all-star in 2019. The right-hander received both Cy Young and MVP votes in 2020 and helped lead the Oakland Athletics to a postseason appearance.

Having spent time with Minnesota, Kansas City and Toronto, Hendricks found a home in Oakland and what’s more, he turned a corner in a serious way after the 2018 season. The peripherals suggest that the recent level Hendriks has reached in the last two seasons isn’t a total surprise. From 2015 to 2017, Hendriks had two seasons with a FIP below 3.00 and a 3.22 in 2017, which indicates he was better than his ERA suggested.

With a fiery personality and above-average stuff, Hendriks being injected into the Mets bullpen would pay dividends, not only in the regular season but the postseason as well. The Mets are trying to build a championship team and with postseason experience under his belt, Hendriks could help push the needle.

In 2020, Hendriks was touched up just slightly in the Wild Card game against Chicago, but rebounded nicely in the Divisional Series against Houston and pitched three scoreless innings. All indications point to Hendriks wanting to sign with a team that would give him an opportunity to take the ball in the ninth innings, but it’s worth wondering if the Mets are willing to move their 26-year old closer for a 31-year old, especially since Edwin Diaz has seemingly found his groove.

Regardless, those decisions could be worked around. What’s of importance is that signing Hendriks could set the Mets over the top and give them an elite backend of the bullpen that would be frightening to see in the postseason.

The timing of the ownership transition seemed to cost the Mets an opportunity at Hand early on, but could they have a second chance to snag the closer?

If the New York Mets were going to tell Santa Clause what kind of relief pitcher they were looking to sign this winter, it would sound something like this: left-handed, versatile, and able to replace Edwin Diaz should he regress again in 2021.

Santa would then reach into his big bag of gifts and pull out: Brad Hand.

Sandy Alderson made it clear that the timing of the transition of power from the Wilpons to Steve Cohen proved to be a detriment as they would’ve likely claimed the leftie closer when he was passing through waivers. It should be noted that in a regular season, there’s probably little to no chance that Hand even sees the waiver wire to begin with, but nevertheless, here we are.

With three consecutive all-star appearance from 2017-2019, Hand registered two straight seasons of 30+ saves with both the San Diego Padres (yes, seriously, San Diego, again) and Cleveland Indians. In 2016, right before he started closing games for the Padres, Hand appeared in a career high 82 games and compiled a K/9 ratio of 11.2. Hand since then has never registered a K/9 rate below 11.

The exceptional strikeout rate to accompany the ability to close games in big situations makes Hand an ideal candidate for the Mets this offseason. Desperate for a left-handed arm in their ‘pen, adding Hand this winter would provide the same level of dominance, if not more, that would come from adding Hendriks. You could argue that the high strikeout rate and sustained levels make him an even better option than Hendriks, regardless of him being left-handed.

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If New York is going to spend big on a reliever, their money would be best used to ensure that Hand is in a (potentially black) Mets jersey come 2021. Only 30-years old, there’s still plenty left in the tank for the Minnesota native. With the type of depth and versatility the Mets are trying to create for their franchise, signing Hand would give the Mets another premier option to close out games.