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.