New York Mets: Four goals for the bullpen to achieve in 2021

Elevate at least one young reliever

The Mets haven’t done a very good job at growing young relief pitchers. Seth Lugo is it and even he barely qualifies.

Lugo’s exact role with the team (more on this later) is undefined. I would also hardly call him a “young reliever” at this point in his career. It’s time the franchise stumbles upon another pre-arbitration pitcher to help out in a relief role.

Unfortunately, this might be one of the tougher goals for the team to reach. The Mets don’t have many pitchers in the farm screaming that they are ready for big league innings. Those they have given the chance to over the past two or three years have fallen flat far too often.

Franklyn Kilome is one guy to watch as a possible stud reliever. Although he has worked a lot as a starter, the need right now is for the Mets to find relief help.

Yet another name to throw out there, Drew Smith came to the Mets in the Lucas Duda trade a year before Kilome did in exchange for Asdrubal Cabrera. It’s interesting that two of the better candidates to rise up through the relief rankings are each trade deadline addition. I’ll just write this off as coincidental.

There is probably at least one other name out there we haven’t thought of as a possible relief option for the Mets in 2021. With relievers at any level, it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re going to get. They are the box of chocolates in baseball.

Decide on Seth Lugo’s long-term role

I promised we’d get to Seth Lugo again, didn’t I? You can’t mention the Mets bullpen without talking about this talented pitcher.

For the last three years, nobody has been more consistent in relief than Mr. Lugo. Even though he would prefer to start and may get his wish once again in 2021 in some capacity, I think it’s about time the Mets decide exactly what the best way to use him is.

Lugo is the kind of pitcher the Mets can build around long-term. He’s a weapon in many ways because of how well he can perform in relief and also how admirable his efforts as a starter can be.

After the 2020 results, I think most fans would prefer to see Lugo in the role he has excelled at most: multi-inning reliever. This comes with some consequences. Lugo is only available twice a week so the Mets have to choose wisely when they do call upon him for assistance.

The Mets don’t have to marry Lugo to a particular role, but I would like to see them finally decide on exactly where he fits in. If he is a full-time reliever and emergency sixth starter, this is what they should continually do. Make it clear to him that this is how he will be used throughout the season and beyond.

Of course, even if the Mets do have a plan with Lugo, it is always subject to change. If he gets a chance to start and performs beyond expectations, they may want to consider him for more starts in the future. Preferably, Lugo spends 2021 bridging the gap from the starter to Edwin Diaz in the ninth.

Milk anything out of Jeurys Familia that they can

The first two years of Jeurys Familia’s return haven’t paid for themselves. In 2019, he was a disaster. The 2020 season was better but not nearly good enough to give me confidence in him for the coming year.

Familia’s 2021 campaign will be the final on his contract with the Mets. This year, the club needs to milk whatever they can from him.

Clearly, Familia won’t work as the primary setup man as originally planned when the club brought him back. He also is well down the depth chart as a closer option. My guess is he’ll start the season as someone we see appear in games when the Mets are trailing.

This doesn’t mean his roster spot is completely useless. Arms like this are needed on every ball club. At the very least, the Mets need to get some innings from Familia to at least give them an opportunity for a comeback. Heck, let’s settle for allowing him to pitch long enough to provide others with a day of rest.

Expectations for Familia shouldn’t be this low yet they are. This is what happens when we lose faith in a pitcher because of how often he has crumbled.

We don’t need much out of Familia this year other than competency. He doesn’t need to thrill us or even exceed our lowest of expectations. All we need is for Familia to give the Mets any quality whatsoever.

Perhaps his best contribution will be his presence in a trade? One can dream.

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Which of these or other goals would you most like to see the Mets bullpen achieve in 2021?